Persona Fusion: The Test of Time
by rjm324
Summary: After losing his friends at the hands of Izanami, Yu Narukami is given the chance to save them by traveling back to 2009, and team up with SEES to save the world from annihilation. But, will his sudden arrival change the world for the better?
1. Welcome to Iwatodai

March 20, 2012:

"Good luck, partner! Kick her ass for me!" This was the last thing Yosuke Hanamura told his friend Yu Narukami before disappearing into the dark void underneath his feet. That was it. All of his friends were gone, leaving the normally stoic Persona user to fall to his knees in complete disbelief. They were all gone: Yosuke. Chie. His precious Yukiko. All of them were gone. And the witness to all of this: the perpetrator herself.

"Well, I dare say that was rather anticlimactic," Izanami finally bellowed. "I was expecting a much more interesting fight." She sighed. "How disappointing."

Narukami's sheer horror turned to bitter rage as he regained his footing and pointed his weapon back at the taunting goddess. "Y-You shut the hell up!" Yu shouted at the top of his lungs. "What gives you the right to talk about my friends like that?!"

Izanami bellowed. "So feisty, aren't we?" she teased mockingly.

"Cut the crap!" Narukami continued. "What have you done to my friends?!"

"They're all dead, I'm afraid," Izanami replied as her face twisted into a devilish grin. "But don't waste your breath. There's absolutely nothing I can do to bring them back."

"N-No! There has to be a way!" He didn't want to believe that they were truly gone. There just had to be a way. He looked back at Izanami, more concerned than ever before. "What can I do to bring them back? There has to be SOMETHING!" The area turned serenely quiet as Narukami and Izanami stood (or hovered) completely still, their breathing excluded, without adding so much as a single word to the conversation. Yu was desperate for any sort of response, as the lingering suspense in the air was a little too much for him to handle.

"Well," Izanami began, breaking the silence, "I may have ONE way of bringing your friends back, but let me ask you this: are you truly willing to save them, no matter the cost?"

"Will you just get to the point?! Can you bring them back or not!?" At this point, Narukami was seriously fired up. Was Izanami really open to some sort of compromise?

Izanami continued. "In theory, yes." She paused. "However, there's a catch, and..."

"I'll do what ever you ask!" Narukami interrupted. "Just tell me what it is!" In an instant, Izanami returned to her humanoid form.

"As you know, I don't hold an ill will towards humanity," she began. "I am, and always will be, a goddess whose purpose is to grant the desires of man where I see fit." Her smile grew sincere for the first time. "You desire your friends? Then I propose this: I can send you back in time, to another place where the desire of mankind very nearly brought about the death of all things."

Yu blinked a few more times. "Back… in time?"

Izanami nodded. "Yes, Narukami. Although the struggles you'll face have far higher stakes than you could ever imagine, there was a group of students, far similar to your own in fact, that also wished to change the world for the better."

"How so?"

"While you and your friends desired the truth behind the murders, this group desired another kind of truth; but in their pursuit, they fought to prevent the destruction of your world." Izanami was starting to grow impatient with Yu's hesitation. "I'll ask this once more: will you go back in time to assist in humanity's salvation?"

Yu suddenly raised an eyebrow. "And you're sure my friends will be alive and well if I go through with this?"

Izanami nodded solemnly. "I give you my word. When all is said and done, I will return you back to Inaba, back to when you first moved in; you'll meet your friends once more, and I'll restore their memories of you in due time." Izanami then offered her hand to Narukami. "Do you find this satisfactory?" This sounded like such a desirable outcome that Yu couldn't help but feel he was walking into a trap.

"How can I be sure you're being truthful?" he interrogated once more.

"As I have said before, my desires are humanity's desires. If you wish to see your friends alive again, then I shall oblige." With the few, precious moments he had left to himself, Yu pondered over Izanami's offer one last time; he could go back in time, save the world, and maybe save his friends, or he could just defeat Izanami now, like he'd planned, but risk never seeing them again. It was a tough call, but given the circumstances, he slowly and warily shook her hand.

"I don't trust you," Yu started, "but I guess I have no other choice. I'll do it. For my friends' sake."

"Very good." Izanami replied, and in that moment, Yu's vision slowly began to fade, and his other senses began fading along with it.

"Good luck, Narukami," Yu heard Izanami say before he slipped into complete unconciousness.

* * *

Date unknown:

As Yu blinked his eyes open, he could immediately tell that he wasn't in the TV World anymore; in fact, he wasn't even in his room, or at school, or anywhere in Inaba. He instead found that he was riding in a monorail car, headed to who-knows-where in the middle of the night. He looked down, and was surprised to see he was wearing something quite different from his usual Yasogami uniform: it was a school uniform, but it was a Gekkoukan uniform at that.

 _Gekkoukan, huh?_ Yu thought to himself. _Well, at least she didn't send me somewhere completely unknown._

 _"Attention all passengers,"_ a voice announced over the speaker system, _"Services will be severely delayed due to an unfortunate accident. We appreciate your continued patience."_

 _Ah, well,_ Yu thought to himself. _It's not like I'm in any real hurry._ As he thought this, he reached into his pocket, expecting a phone waiting there to tell him the time. Sure enough, he was staring at the current time, 11:42 PM, on a flip phone not much older than his own, although considering the date, April 9, 2009, that it displayed, this thing was probably close to brand new.

While the monorail announcement from earlier continued to loop, Narukami suddenly realized he was holding a manila folder under his right arm; he opened it warily yet instantaneously, and inside he found transfer papers for one Yu Narukami - the son of two deceased parents and a soon-to-be student of Gekkoukan High School.

 _Nice touch, Izanami,_ Yu thought, clearly unamused by her "joke". Behind that, he discovered a map to an Iwatodai dorm, where he will apparently be staying for the duration of his stay. With no more papers to shuffle through, he put everything back in the folder neat and tidy; as he did this, the monorail slowly came to a stop, and the announcer cut back on.

 _"This is the final stop for Tatsumi Port Island,"_ the announcer revealed. _"Please remember to gather all of your personal belongings in the_ _overhead compartment before leaving."_ Somewhat disappointingly, when Yu checked the overhead compartment above his seat, he found nothing there for him; however, that didn't mean his "things" weren't being sent to the dorm by Izanami, considering she was the one that sent him there in the first place. Surely, she wasn't mean enough to leave him with nothing to live off of, right?

After the monorail came to a complete stop, Yu, having stashed away the folder in his jacket's inside pocket, filed out alongside the trickle of passengers that also came to Iwatodai that night. As he walked, Yu checked his phone again, and now the time read 11:59 PM. So in summation, not only was he in a new city with no friends and no idea of what to do next, but it was close to midnight, and his first day of school was sure to start early in the morning.

 _Could this possibly get any worse?_ Yu thought to himself dryly; but in the next instant, almost on command, a greenish light illuminated the area, and the people that had passed him by moments ago were replaced with coffins, and even they were standing in the same upright position. Yu also took note of the moon's new yellowish glow, not that that helped ease the tension either.

"What is this?" Yu asked, half expecting someone to answer; he had no idea what to think about this sudden change in atmosphere, but once he saw lightning strike in the distance, he knew the time for thinking was over, at least for the moment; all things considered, he ruled out the possibility of a passing thunderstorm, since the skies were still crystal clear from earlier.

 _I'm probably gonna regret this, but I've gotta see this for myself,_ Yu thought. He had a good hunch as to the lightning's source, but he needed to get closer so he could be absolutely certain. But just before he could take his first few steps, an unknown, grey haired man wearing a red vest ran in the opposite direction, right into Yu's path; the next thing either of them knew, their heads had collided with each other, and the both of them were left sprawling on the ground in pain.

"Ugh…" the stranger moaned before looking to Yu. "Huh?" the stranger asked, seemingly confused by Yu's presence. "You're not in a coffin?"

"Uh, no," Yu replied in deadpan. "Should I be, or am I missing..." A sudden squishing sound caught his attention almost immediately.

"...something?" Yu finished as he got to his feet. His first instinct was to get a better look at the stranger; upon closer inspection, Yu determined that the stranger was a few years older than himself, maybe still in high school, and was somehow able to keep himself calm despite having run from whatever was chasing him.

"I'll explain later," the stranger replied. "For now, just stand back." He then smirked, which Yu noticed fairly quickly. "I've got this." As the stranger faced away from him, Yu noticed a large, pitch black figure approach them at a decent clip. However, it was only after the figure's neon blue mask glimmered in the moonlight that Yu realized what they were up against; as bizzare as it was, a Shadow was coming for them, and it showed no signs of mercy. At first glance, it looked like a Cowardly Maya, which isn't normally a terrifying foe, but once its previously unseen arms pulled out a dozen or so swords, the Shadow quickly seemed at least a dozen times more terrifying.

 _Shadows? Here?_ Yu thought frantically. _But how in the world can they appear in the real world?!_ Before Yu could think of a possible course of action, he noticed the stranger pull out a gun before fearlessly aiming the barrel at his forehead.

"Wait, stop!" Yu shouted. "There's no need to commit suicide over…" Before Yu could finish, however, a gunshot rang out, but rather than seeing flying blood and guts, Yu instead saw shimmering blue particles shoot out the opposite side of the stranger's head, and a giant, humanoid creature materialized, or as Yu knew it, a Persona.

"POLYDEUCES!" the stranger shouted. "ZIO!" Almost instantly, the man's Persona released a small bolt of lightning, which struck the Shadow with relative ease.

"Hell yeah!" the man celebrated, but as he pumped his fist in the air, the Shadow countered by lunging out to restrain the man, which in turn slung the gun-like object right to Yu.

"Guh," the man grunted, "LET ME GO!" But the Shadow ignored his request, and as it tightened its grip, the man's breath was forced out of his lungs, while simultaneously leaving no room for the stranger to breathe. Panicked, Yu held out his hand, hoping that his Persona's tarot card would appear before his eyes, but to no avail; considering what he'd just seen a moment ago, he quickly came up with another plan: grab the gun, use it the same way the stranger did, and hope for the best. Shakily, but with no room for error, Yu crowched down, picked up the gun, and as he returned to a standing position, placed the barrel on the right hand side of his head. As the Shadow continued to constrict the man, Yu squeezed his eyes shut, took a few deep breaths, and finally pulled the trigger. As his ears started ringing, he realized two things: one, he wasn't dead, and two, he noticed that the same blue shards from before were slowly beginning to take shape.

 **Thou Art I, and I Am Thou.** A voice boomed in Yu's head. **The time has come for me to lend thy strength to you.** As the pieces finally collected into a solid form, Yu's eyes widened, as he could already tell who it was; from its long, dark coat and silver and yellow mask, to its distinct naganita-like weapon, Yu uttered his Persona's name softly.

"Izanagi." The figure nodded as the light blue hue that had covered it's body shattered, leaving Izanagi's true form unobstructed.

"Well then," Yu continued, "let's take this thing down!" Izanagi again nodded.

"ZIO!" Yu shouted; Izanagi then began charging his power and, after a few seconds, released a bolt of lightning onto the Shadow, which stunned it enough for the stranger to break free, taking one of the Shadow's arms with it. Once Izanagi disappeared, Yu immediately felt as if he had been run over by a truck; he knew summoning a Persona takes a lot of willpower, but this was beyond anything he'd ever experienced before, and this included his first summoning. Regardless, Yu ran back to the stranger, who seemed to be reeling from a near-death experience of his own.

"T-Thanks for that," he thanked as he panted.

Yu wiped his forehead. "W-Why do I feel like I shot myself in the head?"

The stranger chuckled. "Yeah, that happens with everyone's first time." He then faced Yu properly. "But considering that you're still standing, you seem to be pretty tough yourself."

"Thanks," Yu replied as he looked back at the still reeling Shadow; it was stunned, but it wouldn't be too much longer before it got back up again. He looked to the stranger again. "Look, can we just get the hell out of here before that thing gets up?"

"Good call. Let's just…" As the stranger took one step, he howled in pain as he clenched his left side.

"Are you okay?" Yu asked.

"I... I'm fine." He replied as he fell to one knee.

Yu then realized he had no idea what to call the pained teenager. "Hey, what's your name?"

"It's Akihiko. Akihiko Sanada."

Yu nodded "Well Akihiko, you may still be alive and kicking, but you seem hurt pretty bad. Let me help get you outta here."

Akihiko winced, then nodded. "A-Alright." Akihiko then looked Yu in the eye. "Listen, there's a dormitory not too far from here. If you can get me there, we should be safe."

Yu nodded. "Fine. Just lead the way." As Yu said this, he looked back to the Shadow; now fully recovered, it started to rise back up, and it raised its remaining 11 swords in anger.

"And we better step on it, too!" Yu barked. "We don't want to get caught by that thing again!"

"R-Right!" Their chat over, Yu began stumbling the two of them away, as Akihiko shouted directions while the Shadow continued its pursuit.

* * *

After bursting through the front door of the dorm, Yu set Akihiko down near the building's front desk and proceeded to slam the open door shut on the pursuing Shadow, although Yu admitted that may have been a little overkill, to say the least.

"Akihiko!" two unknown voices shouted from behind Yu. He turned around to see the three new faces that had materialized in front of him and Akihiko: an older girl dressed in a standard school uniform, a slightly younger girl dressed in a similar uniform albeit the pink sweater she wore, and a man dressed in a yellow (or possibly cream-colored) suit. All three of them ran straight for the downed Akihiko, who was clenching his left arm in pain.

"Senpai!" the pink sweater girl shouted.

"Ugh, I'm all right," Akihiko replied before directing his gaze to Yu. "Although if it weren't for this guy, I'd have been toast."

The eldest girl looked to Yu. "Speaking of, who exactly are you?"

"Yu... Narukami..." he replied as he panted. He then regained his composure and spoke again. "But... would someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?!" Before he got a reply, the front door produced a banging sound, startling the occupants inside as the sound echoed throughout the lobby.

"I'll explain later," she replied. "For now, I need you to go with Takeba and escape out the back."

"W-What?" the other girl, Takeba, stuttered in surprise.

"You heard me," the older girl replied back. "Akihiko and I can take the Shadow from here. You just need to take him and Arisato-san and get out of here safely."

"R-Right." She then faced Yu, who was anxiously awaiting instruction. "You heard Mitsuru-senpai. Come with me."

Yu nodded. "Alright." He then followed Takeba to the back door.

Once they arrived, she said, "Wait here for a second. I need to go retrieve Arisato-kun real quick." Not waiting for a reply, Takeba dashed up the stairs, and before Yu knew it, she disappeared in the darkness. This left him alone with his thoughts for the first time since leaving the monorail. He then clenched his head in confusion, rather than pain, as he tried to make sense of the situation.

 _What's the hell's going on here?!_ he thought. _First I make a deal with Izanami, and the next thing I know, I'm stuck at a dorm in a far away city as a Shadow tries to force its way in to kill me and everyone here!_ He sighed. _Man, she wasn't kidding when she said the stakes were higher here._

Finally, Takeba returned with another teen, except he sported blue hair and blue eyes, was rather slender in build, and wore the same standard Gekkoukan uniform that Yu was wearing; Yu would joke about his anime protagonist-like look, but now wasn't exactly the most appropriate time for that.

"Alright," Takeba began, "now that I have you both, let's get going," But before they even had an opportunity to open the door, Takeba stopped in place and started muttering to someone, presumably over an earpiece. While that went on, Yu took a second to peek back at the lobby; there was no one there, and the banging sound had vanished completely. If Akihiko and the elder Mitsuru were fighting the Shadow off, they seemed to be succeeding.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Takeba shouted to the earpiece, attracting both Yu and Arisato's concerned gazes.

 _I have a bad feeling about that,_ Yu thought before the door in front of them was unexpectedly banged on, startling the three teens to varying degrees of unease; much to Yu's surprise, Arisato didn't seem startled that much.

"L-Let's turn back!" Takeba shouted as she lead the two stoic teens up the flight of stairs, while the back door was still continually pounded on. As they climbed, the banging echoed up the stairwell, but Yu was still attracted to the sight of Arisato, who seemed as if he didn't even care what they were running from.

"Does anything phase you?!" Yu shouted to Arisato, who just looked at Yu with a weird expression on his face.

Before he could open his mouth, the sound of shattering glass echoed through the stairwell.

"EEEKKKKK!" Takeba screamed as she and the others continued running. Yu had to give her credit: she was still running despite her fear, which was more than he could say for most people in this sort of situation.

After a few more moments of running, the trio burst through the sturdy metal door at the top of the staircase, and without any hesitation, Takeba locked it shut behind them. For once, Yu was finally able to catch his breath and take it easy. For now, at least.

"Whew, that was close," Takeba exclaimed.

"Yeah, no kidding," Yu replied. "Say, are you sure we'll be safe up here?"

Takeba shakily nodded. "Y-Yeah. It shouldn't be able to…" Before she could finish, however, the three of them stiffened up as they heard a sort of crumbling sound; they then looked in the direction the source of the noise was coming from. To everyone's, especially Yu's, horror, they saw a familiar Magician Arcana mask peering over the edge at them, held up by an equally familiar pitch black hand.

"W-What the…?" Takeba remarked.

"You gotta be kidding me," Yu muttered in disbelief. He was mentally kicking himself for not taking into account that a Shadow might be able to scale the side of a building without a problem.

"Dammit," Yu swore.

"O-Oh, right." Takeba remarked. "I have to fight."

Yu turned to face Takeba. "Fight?" Yu asked. "As in with a Persona?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Now stand back!" Yu obliged, backing up to a safe distance while Takeba pulled out a similar gun-like object to the one Akihiko used; she then pointed it in between her eyes. Yu saw her mutter to herself and sweat profusely as the Shadow moved in closer.

 _What the hell is she waiting for?_ Yu thought to himself. _If she doesn't hurry up, we'll be in serious trouble._ Before he knew it, the Shadow stopped in its tracks, and it began to emanate a red veil of light.

 _Oh shit,_ Yu thought. It was too late to do anything, as the Shadow then sent an Agi move Takeba's way which, while not fatal, sent her flying backwards as it connected with her body; when she slammed against the door, the gun similarly flew out of her hands and clattered towards the still silent Arisato. Frozen in place, Yu considered his options: he could try leading the other two back down the stairs (if he actually knew the lock's passcode), or he could grab the gun and try fighting the Shadow once more; that second option worried him though, as since he'd already summoned his Persona once tonight already, he had no idea what may happen to him if he tried again while in his condition.

A third option entered the picture, however, as Arisato, fear plastered on his face, had already crouched down to grab the gun; once in his grasp, he stood back up, staring at the gun with what seemed like, to Yu, a blank stare.

"H-Hey, hold on!" Yu stuttered, now genuinely concerned. "Do you even know what you're doing?!" Arisato said nothing as he continued staring at the gun. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Yu saw the Shadow quickly head towards the downed Takeba; with nothing but fear guiding him, Yu instinctively rushed to her side, as he wasn't willing to stand idly by and let her become a victim in all of this.

"Per-" Yu heard Arisato start saying.

 _Does he even have a Persona to summon?_

"-so-"

"I hope you know what you're doing!" Yu shouted, a twinge of fear audible in his voice.

"-na!"

Before he knew it, Yu heard the familiar gunshot ring in his ears. Finally, Yu reached Takeba's side, but when he turned his head back to Arisato, he was surprised to see that not only was he still standing, with the creepiest smile Yu had ever seen plastered on Arisato's face, but there was now a Persona hovering behind him.

Takeba raised her head slowly before also looking to Arisato, except she was even more confused at what she was seeing. "W-What on earth is that?" she demanded.

"It looks like... a Persona," Yu replied without hesitation. After a moment, Arisato clutched his head and screamed in pain, the sound of which was finally enough to draw the Shadow's attention away from Yu and Takeba; however, Yu could have never foreseen what would happen next: a new Persona was emerging, bursting out of the old one much like a chest burster. What started out as a mechanical, blue colored Persona with piercing red eyes and a lyre as a weapon was quickly replaced with a slender, black and white Persona with a string of coffins for a cape, a skull mask, and a simple, but elongated sword. As Arisato continued to shout in pain, this new Persona proceeded to hack away at the Shadow, which showed no signs of surrendering even as it was chopped into tiny little pieces; even after the Shadow was completely torn to shreds, the Persona continued to squeeze the life out of the Shadow's last remaining, moving arm before it finally surrendered and melted into nothingness. After it was all said and done, the Persona shrieked into the night sky before morphing back into its previous form, and not long after that, it faded back into Arisato's body. Nothing was said as Arisato stood like a statue, while Yu and Takeba attempted to process what the hell they just witnessed.

"What... was that?" Yu finally asked, breaking the long silence.

"I... I still don't know myself, actually," Takeba replied.

"I mean, he did just save our lives, but still. What the hell just..."

Before Yu could finish, Arisato collapsed to his knees and fell flat on the ground, completely unconscious.

* * *

 **Well well, here we are again, readers. I've started yet another FanFic series, despite my five others already in progress. Truth be told, I've wanted to do this one ever since I started playing Persona 3 a month and a half ago, but I just didn't have the time nor the drive. But finally, I outlined the idea in my head several times on my trips to and from school before typing out a first chapter worthy of your guys' time. Or at least, I hope.**

 **If you guys enjoyed it, please review and let me know, for I'd be more than happy to continue, since as I've stated before, I write to entertain you guys, so leaving feedback is the only true way to let me know what works and what doesn't. I DO know I won't update it quite as frequently as others due to my perfectionist nature (I spent the past week writing and a few hours editing), but the chapters WILL be longer, so I hope that makes up the difference.**

 **Anyways, I am severely out of time, so until then, read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	2. Resting Up by Moving In

It was odd, but in the moments after Arisato collapsed to the ground, the moon returned to its white, normal shape, and the green hue that illuminated the area disappeared, returning the sky's color back to pitch black.

"Wha...? Are you okay?" Takeba asked the fallen Arisato as she rushed to his side. "C'mon, say something!" All the while, Yu, who'd been able to remain standing for so long, finally collapsed to his knees, his energy sapped from all the action; it wasn't as severe as his previous state of exhaustion, but this was actually able to incapacitate him, albeit slightly.

"ANSWER ME!" Takeba shouted louder than before. Meanwhile, Yu, surprised he was still conscious at all, tried to get back on his feet, but he remained on the ground. As he knelt there, Yu heard the roof door swing wide open, and before he knew it, both the older girl, Mitsuru, and the older man from earlier were by Arisato's side along with Takeba.

"Are you alright?" a familiar voice asked Yu; he weakly turned his head to face Akihiko, who was in about as good a shape as he was.

"Other than the continued feeling of being hit by a truck, I'm fine," Yu replied nonchalantly.

Akihiko chuckled. "If you're making jokes like that, then I'd say you're doing much better than when I summoned my Persona for the first time."

Yu turned his head back to the others, specifically at Arisato, and reminded himself about how lucky he was. He tried getting back on his feet one more time, but again, his body just wanted to conform to gravity.

"Let me help you up," Akihiko offered as he stretched out his right hand. "It's the least I can do for you after saving my life."

"But what about you?" Yu asked. "Aren't you hurt?"

"I'll be fine. It'll take a lot more than that to keep me down."

Yu nodded. "Alright then. Thanks, Sanada-senpai."

Akihiko shook his head. "Please, just call me Akihiko."

"Then please call me Yu, if you don't mind." Yu finally worked his way back up onto his feet with Akihiko's help, and as the duo walked over to the group, Yu continued thinking about what exactly just happened; Shadows were dangerous enough, Yu knew this much, but having a Persona burst its way out of another before hacking away at said Shadow, which STILL pressed on while being attacked, of its own free will? That topped anything Yu had ever thought was possible.

"He's completely unconscious," Mitsuru announced. "His pulse is steady, but I've never seen a case of spiritual exhaustion this severe before."

"Oh no!" Takeba exclaimed, worriedly. "Will he be alright?" As Yu and Akihiko neared the group, Yu could now get a better grasp on how serious Arisato's condition was; and he had to admit: Yu couldn't help but feel outright sorry for him. Someone's first time awakening to a Persona is never an easy thing, but the way Arisato's awakened suddenly made accepting your inner Shadow the more desirable option.

"Yes," Mitsuru replied to Takeba, "but he needs medical attention ASAP. I'll call an ambulance." She then pulled out a flip phone similar to Yu's and proceeded to dial a number, presumably 911 or something similar.

"So he'll be alright?" Takeba asked once more.

"Don't fret, Yukari," the man reassured. "The Kirijo Group is well trained in treating Persona-related complications. Arisato-san will be just fine, beyond a 'Shadow' of a doubt." Yu winced, but this time it wasn't because of pain or pity.

 _Either I've finally passed out from exhaustion, or I've heard a pun worse than Teddie's unbearable ones._ Once Yu realized what he'd said, he groaned. _Unbearable? Damn you, Izanami!_

"That was terrible, Chairman," Akihiko replied with impeccable timing. "And not to mention that it's in bad taste, too."

The man then turned to Yu and Akihiko with a gentle smile. "Ah, and how is our mystery guest doing at the moment?"

"I'm exhausted as hell," Yu replied wearily, "but I'm not dead, at least." Despite his state of exhaustion, Yu managed to bow his head before continuing. "And you are…?"

"My name is Shuji Ikutsuki, advisor of the student group known as SEES."

"SEES?" Yu asked.

"Oh, my apologies. It's short for the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, and our job is to defeat Shadows."

 _Seriously?_ Yu thought. _These guys fight Shadows as a school club? That's kinda bizarre, but I guess it can't be any weirder than a group of students fighting Shadows inside the TV._ However, due to being reminded of the painful memory of his friends vanishing before his eyes, he evacuated this thought from his mind before he had a chance to tear up.

"So, how many of you are there?" Yu continued.

"Let's see," Ikutsuki began, "there's Mitsuru Kirijo over there, and then Akihiko Sanada, whom you've met before."

"Kirijo?" Yu asked.

Ikutsuki nodded. "Correct, as in the Kirijo Group."

"Huh. That's Interesting."

 _Who's the Kirijo Group again?_ Yu thought.

Ikutsuki continued. "And lastly, there's Yukari Takeba, our newest member."

As if on cue, Yu nodded at Yukari. "It's nice to properly make your acquaintance, since we're not being chased by a merciless Shadow anymore."

Yukari nodded her head, sadly. "It's nice to meet you too."

Yu turned back to Ikutsuki. "So what's your story? Can you summon a Persona without one of those gun things or something?"

"You mean an Evoker? I don't have one because I can't summon a Persona. I've only had special training to remain conscious during the Dark Hour."

"The Dark Hour? So it does have a name." A clap sound broke Yu's concentration, which he discovered was Mitsuru closing her phone as she returned to the group.

"An ambulance is on the way as we speak," Mitsuru said before facing Akihiko. "You'll be going as well, Akihiko."

"I'm fine, Mitsuru!" Akihiko persisted irritatingly. "I can deal with a cracked rib or two." Yu knew he was lying, given how Akihiko reacted to the pain earlier; but man he had guts, Yu could give him that.

"Akihiko, that wasn't a request." Yu couldn't help but feel intimidated by Mitsuru; even as a bystander, her piercing red eyes, the same color as her hair, seemingly peered into his soul just the same as Akihiko's.

"Tch, fine," Akihiko surrendered.

Finally, Mitsuru turned her gaze to Yu, refreshingly softer than a moment ago. "And as for you… Narukami, was it?"

Yu nodded. "That's right." He then decided to pull his arm away from Akihiko to try standing on his own again. Besides the constant wobbling, Yu finally succeeded in standing on his own two feet again, which was impressive given the circumstances.

"If you're still able to stand after what you've been through tonight, then you should feel much better after some rest. You're more than welcome to be checked in at the hospital if you want, but other than that, there's a number of vacant rooms that you could use for the night." It was then that Yu's eyes widened, as he both remembered and pulled out the manila folder, now dampened with sweat, out of his pocket and handed it over to Mitsuru.

"Actually," Yu began, "I might need to crash here for a little longer than the night." As soon as she grasped the folder, Mitsuru pulled out a flashlight, using it to examine the contents of the folder.

"Transfer paperwork…?" she asked silently before nodding in confirmation. "I see." She then passed the folder to Ikutsuki. "In addition to his other duties, Ikutsuki is also the manager of our dormitory. He'll get you set up real quick." Breaking the serene silence of the night, the sound of a siren started growing in volume the closer it approached.

Mitsuru sighed. "I apologize for the sudden nature of what you've been through tonight. I promise that I'll explain everything to you in due time, but right now, I have some matters I need to attend to. Until then, welcome to the Iwatodai Dorm."

"Great to be here," Yu remarked, nearly out of breath. "I'll just be getting to bed."

"The boys' rooms are on the second floor," Mitsuru added as Yu took his first step down the stairs.

"Thanks." All Yu could manage to do was stumble down the steps to the second floor, open the first vacant door on the right, and collapse onto the bed.

One last thought went through Yu's head as he fell unconscious: _Man, am I glad I made it to the right place._

* * *

As Yu opened his eyes once again, he felt a sensation that reminded him of an endless freefall (which he'd certainly remember after his experiences inside the TV world) while he remained seated in a simple wooden chair. Once he was certain that he was fully awake (or deeply dreaming), Yu looked around the vacant space; it was decked out in familiar velvet, light streaming into the room through all corners, with a large, gated door of some kind that occupied an entire wall, revealing that the room was indeed moving like an elevator would. Or was the whole room an elevator? Regardless, despite seeming foreign at first, Yu could tell it was the Velvet Room, or at least some variation of it. But the confirmation he needed was the appearance of its sole, familiar occupant.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Margaret greeted in a friendly tone. "And what an unexpected guest you are, for my master and sister are already preparing the arrival of another guest." To Yu, it was clear that she was just as perplexed about the situation as he was, but for one reason or another, he felt it necessary to reintroduce himself.

"I couldn't be happier to see a friendly face like yours again," Yu commented.

"I-I'm sorry?" Margaret stammered, almost to the point of blushing. "I-I'm afraid I don't recognize you one bit."

"Are you sure about that, Margaret?" Yu asked sincerely. The two then gazed into each other's eyes, almost as if locked in a struggle. After a moment, however, Margaret's eyes widened before she closed them, while simultaneously drooping her head into her hand. She stayed like this for a few seconds before raising her head once more, delivering Yu a wry smile.

"Narukami?" She marveled. "How did you… no, why are you… I mean…"

"It was Izanami." Yu replied. He had to admit, being in the Velvet Room always felt a bit weird, but it now felt a lot more ominous and foreign. Maybe it was because the room was intended for someone else. Perhaps it was meant for the downed Arisato? That would certainly explain a few things on the rooftop.

"She… took my friends. And she said that if I came back in time to assist with a group of Persona users to aid in the world's salvation or something, she'd bring them back. But now that I think about it, what she said reminded me of the stories you told me about your sister."

"Elizabeth? Then that boy…" Margaret wore a pained expression on her face for only a moment before looking at Yu scornfully. "So you just let her send you back in time anyway?"

"It was either that or leave my friends dead… even if it meant dying for them, and I would've done it. She also made it sound like going back in time to resolve this would purge the world of its evil desires. So yeah, I agreed blindly like the fool I am."

After listening attentively, Margaret shook her head in disbelief and grimaced. "Yes, Narukami. You are quite the fool indeed."

Yu felt a surge of warmth upon hearing those words. "I'm just so glad to see you again. I didn't think I would get to see anyone I knew ever again."

Margaret looked back at Yu with a particular fondness in her eyes. "Well, with you here, this is going to… complicate things. But, I'm glad to see you as well." Yu looked around the room once more, fully aware that there was still something missing from the picture.

"Hey Margaret, where's Marie?" Yu asked. As he asked this, he noticed the entirety of the Velvet Room beginning to shrink in size.

"Narukami!" she spoke. "It seems you're not quite used to the changes here. Go back to sleep; I'll answer all your questions at another time. Until then…"

* * *

Date unknown:

"Narukami-san?" a voice asked through the wood door. Yu twitched his eyes open, then looked around the room, wondering how he'd gotten there. Once he regained total control of his senses, he realized that someone was knocking on the door; he also heard a distinctly feminine voice mutter something along the lines of "I could've sworn this was the room Ikutsuki-san said he went to."

"Ugh, Takeba-san?" Yu muttered coherently.

"Oh good, you're up!" Yukari's voice sounded a lot cheerier than a moment ago, but that cheerfulness turned to scorn in record time. "Geez, if you'd slept for one more day, I was going to suggest sending you to the hospital."

"Wha...?" Yu replied, shocked. "I slept for that long?"

Yukari laughed. "Relax, I was only joking about the hospital," she joked before her tone turned serious once again. "Listen, most of us are heading to school today, but the President said that you're excused for the day."

"Alright," Yu replied. "I don't feel like I could manage school today."

"I thought so, too." She paused. "Anyways, Mitsuru-senpai said that several boxes arrived for you. I'm guessing they're your things?"

"Probably. I guess that's one way I could spend my time."

Yukari continued. "Ah, before I forget, Ikutsuki-san decided to assign you this room; since tomorrow is Sunday, that'll give you more than enough time to recover."

"Great. Thanks." Yu then decided it was kind of weird talking through a door, so he announced, "Hold on. I'm coming to talk to you in person."

"Alright," she replied, "but I don't have much time to talk."

"That's alright," Yu added. "I don't have much to say, either." Still dressed in his sticky clothes, he moved over to the door, opened it, and came face to face with the lovely Yukari; she wasn't as gorgeous as someone like Mitsuru or Margaret, but there was still a certain charm to Yukari's appearance that Yu found appealing.

"So, how're you feeling?" She asked bluntly. "If you're up and walking, you must be doing a lot better."

"I still feel like I shot myself in the head," Yu joked, "but I've been worse." He paused. "You know what, I'm definitely gonna go through the boxes downstairs. Maybe I'll find the one with some clothes that DON'T stick like glue." Surprisingly, Yukari chuckled at Yu's disgusting comment.

"Huh? What's so funny?" Yu was genuinely confused. Not just because Yukari laughed, but because of how much that laugh reminded her of the always cheerful Rise.

"Oh, nothing," Yukari replied, sighing.

"Anyways," Yu started again, "mind pointing me in the direction of the showers?"

"They're just down there." Yukari singled out one of the doors down by the staircase. "And if you get hungry, there should be food in the kitchen on the ground floor."

"Thanks. Well, I'll let you get going, then."

Yukari nodded. "Right. See you this afternoon." She turned back and began walking down the hallway, down the stairs, and, eventually, out the front door. Yu didn't move for a single second until the footsteps faded away. In all honesty, Yu could've gone for more sleep despite what he was told, but he also needed to set up shop since he was stuck here for the time being.

The first thing that Yu did was check the lobby, and sure enough, there was an indeterminable number of boxes waiting for him. He had, at the very least, expected to see Akihiko resting somewhere, until he remembered that both he and Arisato were taken to the hospital while Yu slept like a baby. But it didn't matter now, because Yu had plenty of boxes he had to move, and while there were plenty of steps to climb, he was at least grateful that he had the energy the night before to pick a room on the second floor; Yu couldn't even begin to imagine how straining it would be to carry all these boxes to the fourth floor had he taken the easy way out.

It took Yu about an hour or two, but he was able to get every last box into his room. Most of the boxes he opened held his goddess-issued supply of clothes: plenty of shirts, pants, and shoes, almost all new or pretty close to it. Other than that, there was absolutely nothing that hinted at his life in Inaba. No family photos, no art or figurines, no nothing. One thought did give Yu the chills while he unpacked, and that was how did Izanami know his exact measurements for all the clothing she supplied? He never told her, and now, the thought of her thousands of rotting hands moving all around his body, taking his measurements, made the prospect of showering all the more desirable; although as he thought about this, he came to the conclusion that, like Morooka's vomit, that kind of filth would be impossible to get out, no matter how hot the shower.

After gathering his toiletries (including soap and shampoo that matched the brands he used in Inaba, which didn't help), Yu stripped off his sweat caked clothes from last night and took a hot, relaxing shower. If ever Yu could rank this among his favorite showers, this one would easily be in the top three; it almost felt like the sweat melted off his body, leaving him feeling the most refreshed he'd ever felt since arriving in Inaba two years from now.

After finishing his shower and dressing himself in more comfortable clothes, Yu decided to help himself to whatever he could find in the kitchen so as to appease his growling stomach. He was somewhat disappointed to find that there wasn't much there, so Yu decided to go the extra mile and seek out a place to eat for that afternoon.

* * *

After another hour, Yu finally returned to the dorm, satisfied with what he found while he was out. Fortunately for him, he had remembered that there was a ramen shop, Hagakure Ramen, close by from when he was in Iwatodai on his class trip in September 2011; at least this time, he didn't need help from Rise to find it, since he just spotted it at the nearby strip mall by chance.

Anyways, armed with a soda in one hand, Yu decided that he wanted to watch TV to try to get a grasp on anything he could about the area through the local news programs. Before that, however, he predictably tapped on the TV's surface to see if anything would happen, only to be met with plain old glass.

 _Well,_ Yu thought, _it was worth a shot._ With that mild curiosity out of the way, Yu powered the TV set on, and the first thing that popped up was a news report on a strange illness called Apathy Syndrome, mainly focusing on how a large number of those inflicted with it were waking up with reduced symptoms. Of course, Yu noted the coincidental timing with the Shadow's defeat, but he remained focused on the report. The first reported cases of Apathy Syndrome were almost ten years ago before a noted increase in the past year (and especially in the past month), but of course, the news anchors were debating on whether it was a general trend or a statistical anomaly or other such things.

" _Every day's great at your Junes!"_ Yu froze in place as the familiar jingle played during a commercial break. Just hearing it made Yu imagine Nanako sitting nearby, watching TV with him. It was such a precious thought, in fact, that it reminded him of how lonely he truly was right now.

"We're home!" Yu heard Yukari greet from the front door. Yu turned off the TV, better informed than he was when he got there, and went to go greet the afternoon entourage. In semi-direct sunlight, Yu was finally able to get a better look at the company he was graced with: Yukari and Mitsuru. The first thing of note was that the two were wearing more or less the same thing they wore the night before; this just brought a smile to Yu's face at the thought that he and his gang of friends weren't the only ones to battle Shadows in school uniforms. Something else that he noticed was how the two ladies made their outfits unique; for Yukari, it was her pink sweater and a previously out of sight white choker, and for Mitsuru, it was her custom blouse and thigh-high heeled boots.

"Welcome back," Yu greeted.

"Are you feeling any better, Narukami-san?" Yukari asked politely.

"I still feel a little tired," Yu began, "but it'll take more than that to keep me down!"

"That's good to hear," Mitsuru said. "By the way, are you interested in coming with us to the hospital? Akihiko should be discharged this afternoon."

Yu nodded. "Of course. I wanted to see how he was doing anyways."

"That's kind of you to say," Mitsuru replied. She wasn't smiling, but Yu could sense her expression was a little warmer after that response. "In any case, I know you must be anxious to get an explanation about the night before. And by the time we return with Akihiko, the chairman should be finished with his duties and be ready to give you the whole story."

Yu shrugged. "Alright. But answer me this: Is the Dark Hour related to Apathy Syndrome?"

Mitsuru seemed genuinely surprised by his question. "My my, you're quite observant, Narukami-san."

"Well, when a bunch of people inflicted with it go into remission after that giant Shadow was taken out, the correlation is kinda easy to make out."

"They did?" Yukari asked, holding up a clenched fist to her chest. "Then if you think about it that way, didn't Arisato-kun save all those people?"

"You mean the kid from before?" Yu asked. "I guess so."

"Y-Yeah, that kid." Yukari seemed a little choked up at Yu's comment, so he decided to hush up about Arisato.

"A-Anyways," Yu began, hoping to change the subject. "Shall we get going?"

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes, let's go. There's a car outside waiting for us."

* * *

 **And done! Chapter 2 is done, and boy is it surprising how enjoyable this one is to write. Now I know there are a few time traveling Persona fanfics from what I gathered, but I haven't seen one quite like mine get explored in depth, and in my opinion, I feel it could become one of the most popular Persona fanfics to date. Period. But that's just be being biased about my own work, so you guys tell me what you think of it, like I always ask of you all.**

 **And in other news, my finals/AP tests are complete, and as of May 23** **rd** **, I'll be an official high school graduate. Now I know people may think of their high school years as torturous, but my experience was rather soft, like I didn't experience quite as much as others because of my studies. But what's passed has passed, and I can't wait to experience this new chapter of my life.**

 **Okay okay, I got a little sentimental there. Simply put, I'll be able to update most of my fanfics a lot quicker now, so if you haven't already, favorite/follow not only this story, but me or any of my other fanfics, because things are gonna start picking back up again, and I'm thrilled. As always, keep those reviews coming, and until next time, read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	3. Questions and (some) Answers

The car ride to the hospital, in a nutshell, was pretty boring. Sure, Yu got the chance to get better acquainted with the area, but there wasn't a peep from either Yukari or Mitsuru. With Mitsuru, it looked like that she was content on sitting quietly, and the look on Yukari's face showed even more than that; it was like she was both lost in thought and worried at the same time. Yu, being the friendly and understanding type, knew that she more than had the right to be worried about Arisato. Hell, they all were, but until Arisato wakes up, there isn't anything they can really do.

Finally, after about a 10-20 minute drive, they reached the hospital, but the very sight of it sent a familiar shiver down Yu's spine; the last time he was in a hospital was when Nanako was in critical condition, and the very thought of what went down that sleepy December night was enough to dampen his otherwise optimistic mood; in fact, he felt like he was close to crying.

"A-Are you alright?" Yukari asked. Apparently, the memory's painful significance was translating scarily well onto Yu's face, and once he came to that realization, he just nodded.

"Yeah," Yu added. "It's just… the last time I stepped foot in a hospital… someone I cared for…" Yu stopped, and promptly clutched his head.

"O-Oh, okay." Yukari heard enough to understand. "Sorry I asked."

Yu rose his head and shook it. "No, it's fine. I'm sorry for worrying you." Yu was now sporting a wry smile. "That was a while ago anyways. Shall we go in?"

* * *

Fortunately for Yu, all dread he may have been feeling melted away when they made it to Akihiko's room. The room was clean and bright, and Akihiko was neither in bed nor dressed in a hospital gown; in fact, despite the medical tape that was exposed under his unbuttoned collar, Akihiko looked more or less the same as he did the night before.

"Hey there, guys!" Akihiko greeted cheerfully. "Am I glad to see you! I'm fit as a fiddle and ready to get out of here."

Almost immediately, Mitsuru frowned and stared at Akihiko with the same cold expression from last time. "You're hardly 'fit as a fiddle,' Akihiko. Aside from the two cracked ribs, you also have some heavy bruising." The entire time she talked, the usually stoic Akihiko winced.

"Seriously Mitsuru, I'll be fine," Akihiko countered. "The doctors even said I'll be fully recovered in a week – and that's without the added benefit of Dia spells! Plus, all things considered, I've been through worse during training."

"And I should take this as an argument in your favor why?" Mitsuru asked in an even colder manner. Yu had to admit it now, the way Akihiko reacted to Mitsuru's words was actually pretty entertaining.

"All I can say is I'm glad to see Akihiko's doing much better," Yu added.

Akihiko's face lit up when he met Yu's eyes. "Yu! Same for you, it seems. You weren't doing so good yourself last night either." At that point, Akihiko's smile melted into a frown. "The doctors say Arisato-san hasn't woken up yet. And I have to admit, I was a little worried you'd be doing the same thing."

Yu shook his head. "It'll take a lot more than a shot to the head to knock me down!"

Yukari pursed her lips. "So he hasn't woken up yet, huh…" she said softy. Minutes went by in awkward silence, all four of them unwilling to say anything. Again, Yu was reminded of when Nanako was in the hospital, but he pushed the memory aside once more to avoid the waterworks.

Finally, Mitsuru spoke up. "Why don't you go visit his room for a while? I'm sure he'd like the company." Yukari looked initially stunned by this question, but when she met eyes with Yu, he just nodded.

Yukari then nodded. "A-Alright," she replied. "I'm going." After Yukari disappeared behind Arisato's room door, the remaining three just proceeded to look around amongst each other: from Yu to Akihiko, then Akihiko to Yu, and finally both to Mitsuru. Then suddenly, all three just snickered, cutting the tension in the room like a knife. To Yu, they were clearly used to working with each other, and they've probably known each other for quite a while; and yet, there was a certain aura to these guys that made Yu feel comfortable around them.

Finally, the doctors returned and cleared Akihiko to leave. However, rather than leave right away, they decided to wait for Yukari to finish her visit with Arisato's comatose body. To Yu, this meant time he could use to get to know the group, and the school, a little better.

"So you guys are seniors?" Yu asked to break the ice.

Mitsuru nodded. "That's right. And you're a junior, correct?"

"Right on the nose," Yu replied as he pointed to his nose.

Akihiko chuckled. "Is that a regular quirk of yours?"

"Yeah. I can stop though, if you like."

Akihiko shook his head. "Nah, its fine. It can't be any worse than Ikutsuki-san's bad puns."

"I'd hope not. I knew someone who made puns like his back at my last school."

"Oh yeah?"

"Unfortunately."

"Speaking of," Mitsuru interrupted, "why were you relocated here to Gekkoukan?"

Yu's face darkened. "Well, my parents got an overseas job, and they couldn't afford to bring me along, so they sent me here. Simple as that." Yu thought that his explanation for moving to Inaba might be enough to satisfy them, because who knows how they'd react if he said he'd traveled through time thanks to a sadistic goddess.

"Hmm, I see," Mitsuru replied, satisfied.

"That must suck," Akihiko added.

"Yeah, but it is what it is." Yu's expression changed once more. "Speaking of Gekkoukan, what should I expect from here?"

Mitsuru looked at Yu, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Classes, teachers, clubs, the works." The next ten or so minutes were spent getting Yu acquainted with the ins and outs of Gekkoukan, from the athletic clubs (fencing, boxing, archery, etc.) to the teachers, and so on and so forth. Yu made sure to listen attentively to everything so that he'd be ready come Monday.

Just as Mitsuru finished up, Yukari emerged from the room a little more down than before, which in turn brought back a certain memory in Yu's head for only the third time in one afternoon. With their business done, the four of them filed into the car from earlier and returned to the dorm.

* * *

As promised, when Yu and the others returned to the dorm, the other man from last night, Shuji Ikutsuki, had returned, and the first thing they did was climb up to the fourth floor, enter a sort of control room, and sit down to begin what would be one of many long awaited conversations for Yu.

"So," Ikutsuki began, "I see that you're doing alright, Narukami-san."

"More or less," Yu replied. "I've still got a slight headache, though."

"I see," Ikutsuki said before turning his attention to Akihiko. "And how about you, Akihiko?"

"A few broken ribs," Akihiko started, "but nothing too serious."

"And the bruising," Yu added.

Mitsuru, for the first time since Yu met her, wore a faint smirk on her face. "Thank you, Narukami-san," she followed.

"Wha? H-Hey!" Akihiko was mildly flustered by the one-two punch that was Yu's and Mitsuru's amusement.

"Now now," Ikutsuki hushed. "This kind of thing happens, especially with the added dangers associated with fighting the Shadows."

"Thank you, Ikutsuki-san," Akihiko thanked, borderline tauntingly. Yukari just rolled her eyes at the whole exchange.

"Moving on," Ikutsuki continued, hoping to change the subject, "I believe we're meeting here not because of Akihiko's condition, but because of our newest resident." All eyes were now on Yu, and this made him feel a little uncomfortable, though he just had to manage somehow.

"Right," Yu replied. "And I'd appreciate it if I get a full explanation about what the hell led to all... that, from the night before."

Ikutsuki nodded. "Of course. In fact, I'll tell you everything you need to know about SEES and our goal."

"I'm listening," Yu replied.

"Now then," Ikutsuki began, "like I said the night before, we're known as SEES, or the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. We're classified as a school club, and our duty is to eliminate our enemies, specifically Shadows." He paused for effect. "And as you're also aware, our members include seniors Akihiko Sanada, Mitsuru Kirijo, and junior Yukari Takeba."

"Right."

"But here's the thing: the Shadows only come out at night, during a time referred to as the Dark Hour. It's basically an extra hour of the day, hidden between two ordinary days."

Yu tilted his head. "How does that work?"

Mitsuru sported a smile. "I'm not surprised by your reaction." Her expression quickly turned serious, though. "Do you remember what you saw when you first experienced the Dark Hour?"

"It's a little fuzzy," Yu started, "but I do remember the coffins all over the place. Oh, and the puddles of blood were also a little unsettling."

"When a normal person experiences the Dark Hour," Ikutsuki continued, "they transmogrify into a coffin."

"So… are we special?"

Ikutsuki nodded. "That's right. It's rare, but there are some like you that can operate during the Dark Hour, and some are even bestowed with the power of Persona."

Yu then imagined an Evoker in his hand. "Then the Evokers… summon the Persona."

"Yes." Ikutsuki replied. "You're catching on fast."

"And if I remember correctly, you said you can't summon a Persona?"

Ikutsuki nodded once more. "Again, yes. I've received special training from the Kirijo Group to remain conscious during the Dark Hour."

"So the Kirijo Group is involved with this?"

Mitsuru nodded. "That's correct."

"And then from what I gathered," Yu continued, "Apathy Syndrome is directly related to the larger Shadows like the one from the night before."

Ikutsuki's eyes widened. "My my, you're incredibly perceptive. But yes, that's also correct. Any other questions?"

"Just one," Yu replied, and it was one that was nagging him since his first encounter with the group. "What's up with Arisato-san? Why did his Persona change forms and get so... violent?" Unlike before, everyone remained silent, and it was then that it dawned on Yu how much that not only he didn't know, but also what they didn't know.

"…You don't know?" Yu asked.

"…No," Mitsuru replied sullenly.

"I'm still not sure what we saw," Akihiko followed.

"Let's just assume for the time being," Ikutsuki continued, "that Arisato-san has power that is far more potent than any of us are capable of understanding at the moment. Only time will tell how great his power is."

Yu nodded in agreement. "Fair enough." It was at that moment that Yu finally acknowledged the briefcase on the table. "And what's with the briefcase, now that I think about it?"

Ikutsuki replied by opening it up and turning it so the contents became visible to Yu. Inside it sat two things: an Evoker, and a bright red armband.

"Mostly because of your abilities," Ikutsuki began once more, "and partly because you saved Akihiko-san, we want you to join our little group as a new member."

Yu's silver eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"We're very serious," Mitsuru replied. "You have the potential, and since we're still very small, we need all the help we can get."

"Besides," Akihiko added, "It'd be exciting fighting alongside you. What do you say?"

Without much hesitation and everything to lose, Yu grabbed the Evoker and armband in a heartbeat. "Hell yes. Now that I know what I'm up against, there's no way I can just lay low as a bystander in all this. I'm in."

"Really?" Yukari finally spoke. "I was sure you'd say no."

"Are you kidding? I'd never want to miss something like this."

 _I also don't have much of a choice,_ Yu thought.

"You've made the right call," Akihiko replied.

"Thank you so much," Ikutsuki replied. "That leaves just Arisato-san to deal with once he comes to."

"So… is that all?" Yu asked. "Can I go now?"

"Of course," Ikutsuki replied. "You now have about as much info as we do. Have a good night, Narukami-san."

* * *

As soon as he closed his door, Yu's phone went off immediately; this wasn't what startled him, but the ringtone for "Burn My Dread" sure did. It wasn't a bad song, but it had been an old song in 2011; considering it was now 2009, it was a safe bet that the song would be all over the place right now.

Although hesitant, Yu accepted the call. "Hello?"

"Hello, Narukami," a confident voice greeted. "I hope you haven't forgotten about me already."

"How could I ever do that, Margaret?"

Margaret chuckled. "You never change. Now then, let's get to business."

"What kind of business?"

"The preparations are in place for you to enter the Velvet Room once more."

"I see. Are you gonna tell me what I need to know?"

"More or less."

"So... are you gonna snatch me from my dream again?"

"No. You'll need to find the door at the nearby Paulownia Mall."

"But how am I gonna get in?"

"I had a feeling you'd say that. Please check your pockets." Yu dug in his pockets and found a copy of the Velvet Key.

"What the…?" Yu was perplexed. "H-How did you…?"

"All will be explained in due time. Now then…" The call promptly ended, leaving Yu to stare at the Velvet Key like it was the Holy Grail.

 _You're always full of surprises, Margaret,_ Yu thought. Just like last night, Yu kept that day's clothes on as he surrendered to the peaceful grasp of sleep.

* * *

April 12, 2009:

In addition to it being Sunday, Yu was pleasantly surprised by the fact that his headache was finally gone, meaning that it was the perfect day for him to find more answers to his questions. As per Margaret's request, he traveled on foot to Paulownia Mall and, once he arrived, decided that the back alley would be a good first place to check; much to his surprise (or lack thereof), it was indeed there, and with the glowing Velvet Key in hand, Yu entered the Velvet Room.

The first thing he noticed was that unlike before, the Velvet Room had changed back to the limo-like state he'd grown to know and (questionably) love, complete with all the marked bottles of alcohol, wine, and whatever else was there. But the centerpiece of the Velvet Room, as it was the last time he was here, was the always lovely sight of Margaret.

"Welcome back," Margaret began, "to the Velvet Room as you know it."

"Glad to be back," Yu replied. "So, what now?"

"I've been looking into everything," Margaret began, "and I'll explain what I know about the situation as best as I can."

Yu nodded. "Go ahead," he replied.

"From what I've gathered," Margaret began, "you have indeed been sent back to the year 2009."

"I kinda figured that," Yu butted in.

"In any case," Margaret continued, "while I would advise you to stay as minimally involved with the affairs of the past as possible…"

"Which I've already failed at," Yu added.

"…your BEST bet is to just play along as long as you can until I can find a way to send you back."

"And by that, you mean…?"

"Don't worry, Narukami. I'll figure out the specifics when that time comes." She paused, then continued. "Now, I'm sure you have a few questions."

"Uhh, where's Marie?"

"Marie? Oh, she's not here."

"In what sense?" Yu asked, slightly concerned.

Margaret chuckled. "Relax. I just sent her out to do an errand or two. Regardless, it's best that you don't try reintroducing yourself to her."

"Why?"

"Unlike me, Marie will not remember you now, so trying to reintroduce yourself to her now could result in some... unforeseen consequences."

"Like?"

"I'd rather not say. Just know that the consequences could be very dire."

"Okay. If you put it that way…"

"Any other questions?"

"Since it's obvious the boy I met a few nights ago has the power of the Wild Card, what does that mean about my ability?"

"Give me a moment." Margaret materialized a deck of tarot cards on the table in front of her, and after picking one of the cards laid out, Margaret was surprised to see that she pulled the Fool.

"H-How is this possible?"

"So?"

Margaret cleared her throat. "According to the cards, you have retained your ability of the Wild Card."

"So I can still use my multiple Personas?"

"Theoretically, yes. But I don't see how you can do that at the moment without my master or the Compendium. I'll have to get back to you on that one."

"Alright, then I have just one more question: do you know if Izanami was telling the truth or not?"

"About what?"

"Everything."

Margaret shook her head. "Well, no. Other than she had the power to send you back in time, I've no clear answer for that question."

"Ah, well. Just thought I'd ask."

"I'll gather what I can, but for now, you need to return to your world. Now that you've entangled yourself in the affairs of the past, we've just got to roll the dice and hope for the best."

"That doesn't sound too promising."

Margaret shook her head. "Don't worry. We'll figure this all out together. Until next time…"

"'I'll see you again?'"

Margaret smiled. "Right on the nose."

Yu smirked. "Cute." After this goodbye, Yu quietly exited the Velvet Room.

* * *

 **Alright, I officially feel like I'm spoiling you guys at this point. Maybe that's why I decided to write this chapter now, so that I could get the Q &A content out of the way so you guys don't moan and groan, and I know it'll happen to some of you. Also, isn't it crazy that this fanfic has been out for roughly one week and there's already three reviews, nine favorites, and fifteen follows? I mean to someone else that's underwhelming, but to me that's huge!**

 **Oh, and if this Author's Note gets a little mushy, I started writing this chapter at 7 PM, and now it's 11:30 PM, so I feel a tad bit tipsy from exhaustion. Anyways, don't expect another three chapters in one week anytime soon. I'm only one person, and this fanfic especially takes a lot more time than the 20 Minute FNAF fanfic. However, if you ARE in the mood for another Persona fanfic from me, go look up Persona 4: Yosuke's Shadow. Whether you come to love it or hate it, just give it a shot and leave a review to tell me how you like it.**

 **Alright, I've seriously gotta get going before I ramble on for far too long and far too stupidly. So thanks for reading, and read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	4. Hospital Blues and Schoolside Chats

As he walked back to the dorm, Yu couldn't help but notice how much livelier the atmosphere was here than in Inaba; he couldn't put his finger on it, but there was a sense of nostalgia that washed over Yu's being. In any case, the walk back was fairly peaceful, and before he knew it, Yu was back at the dorm. The next surprise of the day came moments later, however, as when he opened the door, he found Yukari standing there; it was almost like she was about to open the door too.

"O-Oh!" Yukari stuttered. "Hey there, Narukami-san."

"Hello to you too, Takeba-san," Yu replied. "You headed somewhere?"

Yukari nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to visit Arisato-san in the hospital."

"But we just saw him yesterday," Yu replied dryly.

"I know that!" This time, there was a hint of sternness in her voice. "I-It's just…"

Yu nodded, understanding. "I gotcha. Could I come along?"

"H-Huh?" Yukari stuttered, surprised.

"I know you're worried about him," Yu began, "but that goes for the rest of us. Let me tag along, at least."

"W-Well…"

Yu held up his open hand. "I promise I won't be a burden."

Yu was certain Yukari would shoot him down despite all this, but she surprised him by nodding in agreement. "Alright. If you want to."

Yu smiled warmly. "Shall we get going, then?"

* * *

As Arisato laid in bed nearly motionless, Yu couldn't help but feel a little bit intimidated by him; he didn't know why, but despite being asleep, the teen's stoic expression from the night before stayed with him, which added a certain mystique to his already vague personality.

"He looks so peaceful, doesn't he?" Yukari asked, her attention focused solely on Arisato.

Yu nodded. "Yeah, he does," he replied. "And yet, there's something about him just adds a certain… coolness to him."

"Coolness?" Yukari teased. "I'm not so sure about that."

Yu shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? It's just a thought."

Yukari then turned her gaze back to Yu. "But you're right. There is something that makes him… somewhat irresistible."

Yu snickered. "Irresistible? And you think I'M nuts?"

Yukari blushed. "S-Shut up!" Yu laughed. He couldn't help but see a bit of Chie in her, but this realization drained the color out of his face again.

"H-Hey, what's wrong?" Yukari asked. "You look kinda down. Was it something I said?"

Yu shook his head. "No. I was just remembering my old friends from my last school. In fact, you kinda remind me of one of them."

"O-Oh," Yukari stuttered, understandingly. "You must miss them a lot."

Yu nodded. "Of course. We were so close, you could almost say we were family."

Yukari looked to Yu questioningly. "Family, huh? Isn't that pushing it?"

Yu shook his head. "I don't think so. My last school was pretty small, so you could recognize just about everyone there by name."

Yukari nodded. "Oh. I see."

"What about you?" Yu asked. "Do you have friends like that?"

Yukari shook her head. "Not really. In fact, I don't really have family like that anymore."

Yu arched his eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"I'd rather not say…" Yukari looked visibly uncomfortable.

"C'mon. I won't tell anyone."

Yukari hesitated, uncertain about Yu's sincerity. "A-Are you sure?" Yu nodded in approval, so Yukari continued. "W-Well, my dad died in an accident years ago when I was little."

Yu's eyes grew sadder. "Really? I'm sorry to hear that." He paused. "If you don't mind me asking, how did he die?"

Yukari continued. "He died in a blast in a lab run by the Kirijo Group, but no one knows exactly what happened."

Yu sighed. "Again that name."

"Well, the Kirijo Group is kinda hard to miss around here. They even built the school."

Yu's eyes widened in shock. "They built Gekkoukan? I had no idea." Yukari remained silent, as if this were a sore topic of discussion for her. "A-Anyways, what about your mom?"

Yukari nodded slightly. "That's what I meant when I said I didn't have family like that anymore. You see, we're not exactly on good terms."

"How so?"

Yukari frowned. "Why are you so interested in my life story?"

Yu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry. It's my intuition to learn more about a person."

Yukari nodded. "I see. So it's kind of like Ikutsuki-san with puns?"

"Probably. Only not as cringe inducing."

"Haha. That's for sure."

Yu cleared his throat. "So your dad is dead and you and your mom aren't on good terms. I guess I'll leave it at that." Yu sighed. "Sure makes me feel lucky about my relationship with my parents."

"Why is that?"

Yu chuckled. "Now I feel like you're interrogating ME."

"Well, can you blame me?" Yukari snapped back.

"Well since you asked, my parents are almost never around. In fact, their job is why I'm even here." Yu resisted the urge to bite his lip.

Yukari looked back at Arisato, grimaced, then faced Yu again. "Don't let this leave the room, but I kinda know about his past already."

Yu arched his eyebrow. "You do?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Apparently, his parents died near the same time as my dad, except in his case, it was in a car accident."

Yu sighed. "Man. And here I thought you guys were all a brightly bunch." He paused for a moment. "Instead, you all have tragic back stories."

"I guess not everything is what it seems, huh?"

"Believe me, I've learned that lesson a few times over." For the next hour or so, Yu and Yukari just engaged in idle conversations about life, Arisato, and so on while continuing to wait for him to wake up; however, as Yu and Yukari prepared to leave, he had yet to do so. Once the two parted ways, Yu spent the rest of his afternoon mapping out the surrounding area for reference; by the time he returned to the dorm that evening, Yu decided to go straight to bed early without any hesitation.

* * *

April 13:

Just like on Saturday morning, Yu was woken up by a knock on his door, except this time, Yu could actually get out of bed with general ease; since he had to go to school anyways, Yu felt a greater sense of urgency in getting up now. After a few minutes, Yu had done his hair, cleaned himself up, and got his uniform on; although his appearance could use a few tweaks like the others had with theirs, it was good enough as is for his first day.

After all was said and done, Yu went to the door, opened it up, and was greeted once more by Yukari.

"Good morning!" she greeted cheerfully, a significant improvement from the past few days. "Sleep well?"

"Actually, yeah," Yu replied. "In fact, I may have had my best sleep yet."

"That's good to hear," she added. "Anyways, Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school today, since it IS your first day and all."

Yu nodded. "Alright. Then let's get going."

"I'll lead the way." She proceeded to turn around, then stopped to look to Yu once more. "Oh, we'll have to take the monorail to school."

"Okay." Yu replied in deadpan. "That's definitely different from my last school."

"I had a feeling you'd say that." Yu and Yukari then walked down the stairs to the ground floor, out the front door, and all the way to the monorail station. Once the two sat down, the monorail began to move, although it didn't take long for them to start moving over water, not that it bothered either of them.

"You know," Yukari began, "this is my favorite part of the trip."

"How so?" Yu asked.

Yukari shook in disapproval. "You'll laugh."

"I'll admit to many things, but I won't laugh."

Yukari took a deep breath, then spoke. "W-Well, it makes me feel like I'm gliding over the sea."

Yu stayed silent for a moment before replying. "I don't think that's funny." He paused. "Actually, it seems more cute than funny to me."

"C-Cute?" Yukari stuttered before she began blushing.

"W-Well, only because it reminds me of this one girl from my other school," Yu stammered. "It sounds like the kind of poetic thing she'd say." This part was true, since Marie's like that a lot.

"O-Oh." The blush vanished from her face. "I see now." Before speaking again, she regained her composure. "A-Anyways, our stop is Tatsumi Port Island, and from there we walk. You have heard of it, right?"

Choosing to ignore an obvious thought in his head, Yu nodded. "Yeah. What makes you think I wouldn't?"

Yukari smirked. "You know why."

"Ouch. Right where it hurts."

Yukari laughed for a moment. "You know, you're actually pretty funny." She stopped talking and looked out the window. "Oh look, you can see the school from here!" Yu looked out and indeed saw that on the large, man-made island stood the familiar sight of Gekkoukan High. It didn't look all that different from before, but it still felt foreign to him. Would he be able to adjust? Probably, but that wasn't the issue at the moment.

After stopping in the station, the two immediately began the trek to the school, which was situated in the middle of the island. It wasn't a particularly long walk, but the fact that Yu was here again, and as a student no less, made it feel a little daunting.

"Good morning!" one of the girls greeted.

"Mornin'," Yukari replied back. This kind of thing went on pretty much the entire way to the school.

 _Someone sure is popular,_ Yu thought. Finally, they reached the front gates, and it continued to dawn on Yu as to how real this was, even though his circumstances in coming here were far from normal.

"Well," Yukari began as she turned back to Yu, "let me be the first one to welcome you to Gekkoukan High! Hope you like it here."

"I hope so," Yu replied. With the welcome party out of the way, they continued through the front gate, walked down the long walkway, and entered through the front door. Yukari stopped once they made it to the shoe lockers and turned back to face Yu once more. "You'll be okay from here, right?"

"Yeah."

"You should go see your homeroom teacher first. The faculty office is to the left."

Yu nodded. "Great, thanks. Guess I'll see you around."

Yukari nodded. "Yeah. Bye." Yukari turned around and disappeared down the right hallway. Yu was rather surprised that she didn't try forcing him to keep quiet about the past weekend, but he decided to comply regardless. He certainly wouldn't want to give the impression that he was a crazy person, which he certainly wasn't.

As he walked towards the office, Yu noted once again how much livelier it was in the school than back in Inaba, only this time, it was a little more unsettling than usual. Regardless, he continued walking, and in no time flat found the faculty office's door. He opened it, stepped inside, and spotted the only noticeable occupant in the room: a female teacher dressed in a pink suit.

"Oh, you must be our newest student," she said.

Yu nodded. "That's right," he replied confidently. "I'm Yu Narukami."

"It's nice to meet you, Narukami," she replied. "I'm Ms. Toriumi, and I teach composition. Welcome to Gekkoukan."

"Thanks!" Yu replied enthusiastically. "I'm glad to be here."

"My, such enthusiasm! You remind me of the other transfer student we welcomed in a few days ago."

"I guess it's something about outsiders, then," Yu remarked.

Ms. Toriumi continued. "Have you seen the classroom assignments?"

Yu shook his head. "No, I didn't."

"You're in 2-F. That's my class."

He nodded. "Lucky me, I guess."

"As soon as I'm done here, we'll get going."

He nodded again. "Alright."

* * *

As the final bell rang, Yu took some time to reflect on his first day as a Gekkoukan student. As far as first days went, it was at least better than the vulgarity-filled lecture given out by Mr. Morooka. As for the actual material, it was somewhat interesting; at the very least, it was a pleasant surprise to find that Yukari shared the same homeroom as him.

"'Sup, dude?" he heard a voice ask him from behind. It wasn't enough to startle him, but Yu still turned around to see who it belonged to. It was another student, wearing what did, of course, look like the standard Gekkoukan uniform, with the addition of a goatee and a baseball cap.

"How's it goin'?" he asked, not too long after his last question.

"And you are…?" Yu asked back.

"I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya." Like before, Yu couldn't help but envision a little bit of one of his friends in Junpei, chiefly Yosuke; he couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not, but since he opened his mouth, Yu had to say something.

"Nice to meet you too, Junpei," Yu replied. "I'm Yu Narukami, the new transfer student."

Junpei grinned. "Oh, I could tell," he replied. "I haven't seen hair that grey in a while, so I'd know if I saw you before."

"Thanks, I guess."

Junpei quickly switched gears. "Yeah, I know how tough it is bein' the new kid. Sure, I transferred here in the eighth grade, but I thought I'd say 'hey' anyways. See how nice a guy I am?"

"Yeah," Yu deadpanned. Out of the corner of his eye, Yu noticed Yukari walk towards them, but it was Junpei who first acknowledged her.

"Hey Yuka-tan," Junpei greeted.

Yukari sighed. "What is it with you and saying hi to the transfers lately? Do you have THAT little to do?"

"W-Wha?" Junpei stammered. "I'm just trying to be friendly."

"You say that, but I'm not too sure." Yukari then faced Yu. "Anyways, what are the odds of us being in the same homeroom?"

"You sure act surprised about it," Yu replied.

"W-Well, yeah. I mean, Arisato-kun…" Yukari went quiet fast, which made Yu worry again.

"What's wrong, Yuka-tan?" Junpei asked. "Now that you mention it, I didn't see him earlier. Or over the weekend."

"W-Well," Yukari began, "y-you see…"

"He's in the hospital," Yu replied bluntly.

Junpei's emotion drained from his face. "Are you serious? I had no idea."

Yukari shook her head. "I-It's fine," she replied shakily before facing Yu. "Anyways, I…"

Yu nodded. "Go ahead. I won't get in your way this time."

"Thanks," Yukari thanked before leaving the classroom.

"So do you know how bad it is?" Junpei asked.

Yu shrugged. "The doctors say exhaustion, but he hasn't woken up since he was brought in."

"Damn," Junpei swore.

"I'm not worried," Yu reassured. "I'm sure he'll come out of it soon." Yu looked out the classroom window for a moment before looking back at Junpei. "Anyways, I'm gonna get going."

Junpei lit back up. "Mind if I tag along?"

Yu shook his head. "I'd rather go alone today. Sorry, but maybe some other time."

"Oh, alright," Junpei replied sadly, yet understanding. "See you later then." Yu then left the classroom, explored the school for a little bit, and finally made it out the front door. He didn't know how long he was exploring, but Yu still felt he had accomplished something that afternoon.

"Yu!" he heard yet another voice call, but this time it was one Yu could match without looking.

"Hey there, Akihiko," Yu replied, somewhat surprised. "You holding up well?"

"I'm managing," he replied. "And it looks like you're doing a lot better already."

"I was all better yesterday actually, but now I feel 100 percent there."

Akihiko nodded. "That's awesome." He paused, then smiled sincerely. "Listen, thanks again for joining us."

"It's no problem," Yu reassured. "Like I said, after what I saw and heard, there's no way I'd stick to the sideline. That's just not me."

"Heh. Is that so?"

Yu nodded. "Yeah. So what do we do now?"

"Well, with me out of action, all we can do is wait for Arisato-san to recover."

"You sound so disappointed."

Akihiko scowled. "I can't exactly fight with a few broken ribs."

"Oh, right." Yu paused. "So, we should just sit around and wait?"

Akihiko laughed. "Now YOU'RE the one who sounds disappointed."

Yu shook his head. "I'm not disappointed."

"Well, how about this: for the next few days, I'll accompany you during the Dark Hour so you can get some training in."

Yu's eyes widened. "Seriously? But won't Kirijo-senpai…"

"Don't worry about her. I'll take care of it. Whaddaya say?"

Yu thought about it for a minute before nodding confidently. "Alright. That sounds good."

Akihiko pumped his fist. "Awesome!" Another thought then crossed his mind. "By the way, why are you still here? I thought you would've gone to the mall or something by now."

"I was honestly exploring, but what's YOUR excuse?" Yu replied bluntly.

"Well, I'm the captain of the boxing team, so…"

Yu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh, alright. That certainly explains a few things."

* * *

 **Now here's something I didn't foresee happening. Four chapters in 10 days? Usually, I like to keep a good gap between chapters, like a week. But my last chapter was uploaded, what, two days ago? It goes to show how good my word is, whether beneficial or otherwise.**

 **Regardless, how much did you all miss me in two days? For some reason, I've been very active on my FanFiction account and not on my YouTube channel, which is very weird for me. And anyways, how do you guys like Persona Fusion so far? Sorry if these first few chapters feel like a semi-rehashing of P3 dialogue (this kind of thing tends to be my only true flaw with fanfics), but it will get better. Besides, it was bound to happen sooner or later, given my Yu Narukami's sharp attention to detail. And yeah, Minato (or Makato) hasn't woken up, leaving us with five days to kill before we get to the true events of P3, so look out, because THAT'S sure gonna be fun to write, I can tell.**

 **Now this time, I'm not promising anything so I don't jinx myself: chapters will come out when they get completed by me, and as you now see, 3,000-plus word chapters won't be a given, but that doesn't necessarily mean they will always be short. All the while, I'll be writing for my other fanfics, try to make more YouTube vids, and interact. In fact, I'm thinking of using my Twitter account to post updates about my progressions, so follow me if you haven't already at rjm324, of course.**

 **Whew, this author's note just got unnecessarily long, so I'm gonna take off.**

 **Read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	5. Out of Character

After their conversation, Yu and Akihiko walked back to the dorm together. Unlike the past few days, Yu decided to take things easy today, considering he had all of Iwatodai mapped out in his head, and prepared himself for the night ahead of him. Still, he made it a priority to keep an eye out for suspicious individuals; given his time living in Inaba, it was pretty much second nature for him. After arriving back at the dorm, Yu decided to head to his room early and get some studying done while Akihiko stayed in the lobby, probably so he could try convincing Mitsuru to approve his proposal. However, despite how useful and time efficient it would be for the group as a whole, Yu, as he walked up the steps, thought it would take a miracle to approve, given Akihiko's current condition and how he got that way.

As he reached the second floor, Yu went straight to his room and locked the door behind him. He then diligently moved to his desk, and started studying the material he'd learned so far. All the while, he took more time to reflect on his current situation. He had the assistance of Margaret, but until he heard otherwise, he really didn't since he was without his multiple Personas and the Compendium. Additionally, aside from Mitsuru and Arisato, Yu had pretty much acquainted himself with everyone at the dorm, which is always a good starting point in a new town. Additionally, since he was now a part of SEES, Yu thought it would be much easier to fight Shadows than ever before.

And then there's the Dark Hour, which was the most complex concept Yu had to come to terms with. Essentially, it's a "hidden hour" where Shadows come out and attack anyone that's not in a "coffin;" most people couldn't access this period of time, though, as only those who can use Personas (or like Ikutsuki, who had special training) could manage to retain consciousness in the Dark Hour. It was simple enough to understand, but something about it doesn't add up to Yu: even if you could force a Persona out, how would one know if they had one without using an Evoker? The only reason Yu had his before was because he accepted his Shadow, which became his Persona; given that, how could anyone else awaken to a Persona of their own, given the circumstances?

Thinking about all this proved fruitless for now, however, and after two hours of studying, Yu decided that he'd done enough studying for the night. He then left his room and proceeded down the stairs to get something to eat, whether he had to leave the dorm or not to do it. But when he reached the ground floor, he was not prepared for what he was about to walk in on.

"…unacceptable in the condition you're in!" a voice shouted. Considering the voice's harsh tone it harbored, Yu immediately knew it was Mitsuru shouting. It wasn't until he saw that Akihiko was facing her wrath that Yu confirmed that what he expected was, in fact, playing out beat for beat. And so, while those two duked it out, Yu strolled over to the kitchen silently, unwilling to get in the middle of it.

"Just listen!" Akihiko shouted back. "It's not like I'm asking for my OWN sake! Besides, Yu's feeling just fine and is eager to get out there to train!"

Mitsuru sighed in agitation. "Look, I understand that you feel useless thanks to your injury," she continued, "but he's only summoned his Persona once. And what happens if he can't? Then the both of you are dead!"

Akihiko scoffed, pissed as hell. "Dammit, Mitsuru! Why do you have to be so stubborn!?"

 _Smooth, Akihiko,_ Yu thought as he scoured the kitchen like he did days before. _That's exactly how you get someone on your side._

After a moment of silence, Mitsuru spoke. "… Excuse me?" She sighed again, albeit much calmer. "I know you mean well for Narukami-san, but I just can't have you walking about with your injuries, especially when he's very inexperienced with his Persona." That last comment cut Yu like a knife, given how experienced he really was with his Persona. A bag of chips in hand, he entered the lobby.

"Oh, Yu," Akihiko greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed something to eat," Yu replied bluntly as he held up the bag of chips. "But what's going on here?"

Akihiko shifted his eyes guiltily. "I-It's nothing."

"It sure doesn't sound like nothing," Yu replied before facing Mitsuru; however, even with a calm expression on her face, Yu still felt a murderous intent behind her mask.

 _Wow,_ Yu thought, _she's REALLY scary when she doesn't get her way._

Despite this, Yu also remained calm as he spoke to Mitsuru. "Anyways, what's really going on, Mitsuru?"

"If you must know," Mitsuru began coldly, "Akihiko was just suggesting that I allow him to escort you outside the dorm at night; however, he's too injured for me to even consider it."

"How so?" Yu asked. "It's not like he'll be fighting with me."

Akihiko sighed triumphantly in relief. "Thank you, Yu! That's what I've been trying to tell her."

Mitsuru shook her head sternly. "The answer is still no," she replied, still facing Yu. "And not just because of Akihiko's injuries, but because I'll only allow you to fight once we have a few more members."

Yu seemed to be losing the fight, as Mitsuru did had some valid points of concern; however, he still had one trump card left to shift the argument to his side. With this, Yu began again. "But don't forget, I did save Akihiko the other night. The least you could do is allow me to get some practice in before things get worse."

Mitsuru's gaze heated up. "That may be, but…"

Finally, Akihiko spoke with confidence. "No, Yu's right!" He was a lot more determined than earlier, even with Mitsuru's cold scowl staring him and Yu down. "Anyone that's able to save me, of all people, should be guaranteed some practice runs!" He then pointed a finger in Mitsuru's face. "And besides, are YOU going to supervise him? 'Cause I'd love to see you try!" For once, Yu saw Mitsuru's expression shatter from blazing anger to pure shock, and he couldn't help but feel that it was seriously out of character for her; even more, Akihiko seemed to fear Mitsuru mere minutes ago, only for him to stand up to her so defiantly. Yu was sure their odds were close to zero because of this, so he braced for the worst.

Finally, after almost a minute of absolute silence, Mitsuru sighed, almost tired even. "Alright," she conceded.

Yu looked at Mitsuru wide eyed. "What!?" he replied in surprise.

"A-Are you serious?" Akihiko stammered, equally as shocked.

Mitsuru nodded. "But," she added, "he'll need to procure a weapon first."

Akihiko nodded triumphantly. "O-Of course. Thank you so much!"

She turned back to Yu. "And as for you," she continued, "no matter the cost, you MUST protect Akihiko if you run into trouble, even if you have to retreat. Got it?"

Yu gulped, but nodded confidently. "I've got it. I won't let you down!"

"I'd hope not," Mitsuru replied as she sported a gentler smile. "Just don't make me regret this decision."

* * *

After Yu closed the front door to the dorm, Yu gasped in tremendous relief as he turned his gaze to Akihiko. "Is she always this serious?" he asked Akihiko once they began walking.

Akihiko nodded. "She's just concerned about our safety is all," Akihiko replied, "so she has to be. She's a part of the Student Council, and she's in the running to be the new Council President."

"Seriously? She's amazing."

Akihiko chuckled. "But that doesn't mean she has to be that way all the time, y'know?"

Yu nodded agreeably. "Yeah." He then faced Akihiko. "So, where to first?"

"Paulownia Mall. I know a place where we can get you a weapon."

 _Hopefully it's sharper than a golf club,_ Yu thought as he smiled over one of Yosuke's dumbest escapades.

Yu then cleared his throat. "I have to ask you something," he began, "why the boxing team?"

Akihiko looked to Yu questioningly. "You mean why did I join?"

Yu nodded. "If you don't mind me asking."

Akihiko seemed hesitant, then began. "Well, I really just wanted to learn how to fight." Akihiko stopped in place, which Yu did as well; he then looked to Akihiko, where he saw that Akihiko had a blank, horrified look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Yu asked, concerned.

"W-Well, that wasn't the only reason I joined. It's also because I knew powerlessness once, and I don't want to feel that way again." This time, Akihiko looked like he was ready to cry.

"O-Oh." Yu faced away from Akihiko in shame. "Sorry I asked." Yu felt pretty bad at that moment, and he didn't know how he could possibly cheer Akihiko up.

However, Akihiko recovered quickly, shaking his head before saying, "No, it's fine." He paused. "You asked the question, so I answered." Suddenly, Akihiko's face filled back up with emotion. "Anyways, I think we should get back on track."

"Right. Lead the way." The two continued their long trek back to the mall while Yu considered what he'd just seen. Sure, asking about one's hobby was a reasonable question, but he didn't expect the reaction he got out of Akihiko. In many ways, it clashed with Yu's view of Akihiko almost as much as what happened with Mitsuru earlier, which made him wonder what was going on inside of his head.

Suddenly, like it took no time at all, the two made it to Paulownia Mall, and in even less time than that, they were standing in front of... the police station?

"Uhh, not to be rude," Yu began, "but what are we doing here?"

"We're here to find you a weapon," Akihiko replied. "It may not seem like it, but we actually get most of our weapons from here."

"Oh, that's cool," Yu replied, both bewildered and impressed. "Then shall we go in?" Akihiko nodded in agreement, opened the door, and entered the station, with Yu following suit. Inside, they were "greeted" by the presence of a police officer in full gear, which made him look just as intimidating as Dojima, maybe even more.

"This is Officer Kurosawa," Akihiko introduced. "He helps us by selling armor and equipment for our efforts."

 _Well,_ Yu thought, _he's no Daidara, but I'm not quite sure how to feel about that._

"Of course," Kurosawa replied. "Nothing in life is ever free."

Akihiko grinned. "I know that," he replied before facing Yu. "So, what kind of weapon are you thinking?"

"Preferably a sword, but as long as it's something two-handed, I'm good to go."

"Well," Kurosawa began, "I do have one thing: an imitation katana."

"How much?" Yu asked.

"4,800 yen."

Yu nodded promptly. "I'll take it."

* * *

"Wow," Akihiko remarked as Yu swung his katana back and forth on the way back to the dorm. "You look like a natural with that thing."

"I've had some practice," Yu replied. "So what now?" After saying this, Yu yawned.

"Looks like we might just head back for the night," Akihiko replied.

Yu yawned again. "Yeah, you're right," he replied. "It's probably not the best idea to fight while tired."

Akihiko nodded. "That's right," he replied. "Actually, I've gotten sick a few times doing that."

"Well, that's not surprising."

Akihiko grimaced. "Hey! At least I've gotten better at controlling myself!"

Yu laughed. "Don't worry," he replied, "I believe you there."

Akihiko regained his composure rather quickly. "Anyways, does tomorrow night sound good for the start of your training?"

Yu nodded. "Yeah. The sooner the better, am I right?"

Akihiko nodded. "Yeah, I hear ya." The two walked in silence for a while longer before Akihiko spoke up again. "I see a little bit of myself in you, you know?"

Yu shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied bluntly. "You're a character all your own."

"That's kind of you to say," Akihiko replied back, "but I disagree."

"How's that?" Yu asked.

Akihiko frowned. "Well, like me, you aren't afraid to speak your mind, and you don't finch when someone needs help."

Yu looked to Akihiko. "Thanks, I guess." Akihiko just laughed as the two of them continued on down the road.

 _I think we'll get along just fine,_ Yu thought.

* * *

April 14:

"So, do you like him?" Yu asked Yukari out of the blue. The school day flew by in no time, and Yu decided to accompany Yukari to the hospital to visit Arisato once more. Like before, Arisato just laid in bed, unconscious and unaware of his surroundings. For now, however, Yu decided to pay less attention to the sleeping high schooler and more on the reaction he'd elicited from Yukari.

"W-Wha…?" Yukari stuttered, flustered by the question. "W-Where did that come from?"

"You've been coming here every day since he passed out," Yu began, "so it seems kinda obvious."

"W-Well you're mistaken. I-I'm just super worried about him!"

Yu nodded. "So am I, and I'm sure that goes for the rest of us." He paused. "But you're the one that frequents the most often."

"S-So what? That doesn't mean a thing!"

Yu rolled his eyes. "Right," he replied before turning back to Arisato. "I'm just saying. I've seen that look before."

Yukari cooled down, looking to Yu in curiosity. "How so?"

"I've had a few girls give me those kinds of looks at my old school," Yu admitted.

"I-Is that so?" Yukari stammered. "You must've been popular then."

Yu nodded. "Yeah. I guess…"

"Well, did you have someone you… liked?"

This time, Yu was the one to blush, if only slightly. "Kind of. There was this one girl. I always felt a connection with her, but then the move came…" The entire time he said this, Yu couldn't help but picture Yukiko in his head and, after a while, flashbacked to Yukiko disappearing into the void, tears in her eyes as she looked to Yu for help; as he remembered this in agonizing detail, Yu felt his eyes well up with tears.

"H-Hey…" Yukari said, concerned. "Are you... crying?"

Yu looked to Yukari, the tears now streaming down his eyes. Once he realized it, he proceeded to wipe them away. "N-No," he fibbed. "I-I just have something in my eye. T-Truthfully."

"Why are you crying?" Yukari was now more concerned than she was a second ago.

"I-It's nothing. I-I just had some bad memories come up suddenly. I... I..." At long last, he couldn't hold it in anymore. For the first time since arriving in Iwatodai, the usually stoic Yu Narukami was crying his eyes out in front of Yukari, and he wasn't sure whether he could completely trust her yet.

 _D-Damn you, Izanami,_ Yu thought as he buried his face into his arm. _Why do I feel so awful?_ Of course, he didn't get any response, but he didn't care right now. He thought he must've looked pathetic in Yukari's eyes, given how he had been acting in front of the members of SEES. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder; when he looked up, he found that it was Yukari's, and she even looked a little sympathetic to the crying Persona user.

"Hey," she began, wearing a smile on her face, "cheer up, okay?" She paused, a little choked up. "Whatever you're crying over, don't let it get to you. We'll need you pretty soon, alright?"

Encouraged by Yukari's words, Yu wiped his face and nodded in agreement. "R-Right. Thanks Yukari. You sure do know how to cheer a guy like me up."

"T-Thanks," Yukari stuttered as she blushed once more. With both of their spirits raised a little, they bid farewell to Arisato's unmoving body before returning to the dorm together, having grown a little closer than they were before.

* * *

 **Hello once again readers! Sorry that A) the chapter was far shorter than the others and B) that I ended it the way I did. To be honest, like before, the chapter was meant to be longer, but once it was on paper, I decided that I would end it here since I didn't want to spoil the moment. And if you think I'm lying, I tried to continue on, but it just didn't feel right, so come back next time to see Yu's first real attempt at fighting during the Dark Hour.**

 **Also, sorry that I haven't been updating as much as you all may have hoped. While I am, indeed, a high school graduate now, I've just been a little lazy or doing other things, but I will continue to write when I can, so don't worry. And before I leave, I just want to give thanks to That Guy From Downtown (aka That Guy), sladaris, Shepherd0fSouls, and the one Guest for taking the time to leave a review. Like I say in my other fanfics, it's these few reviews that give me the motivation to keep writing, maybe even more than the favorites and follows.**

 **Regardless of which you do, thank you all SO much for supporting me and this fanfic, and I can see this one lasting for a good, long while to come. Keep those reviews and favs/follows coming, and until next time, read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	6. A First for Everything

"Umm, I know I'm supposed to be getting some training in," Yu began, "but what are we doing here?"

"Don't worry," Akihiko replied. "When the Dark Hour begins, you'll see why."

"No, I get that," Yu replied. "What I don't get is why we're here at the school of all places." As Yu said this, the familiar green hue and yellow-tinted moon returned, followed by an unfamiliar shaking that was almost enough to bring Yu to his knees. Then, for the longest time, Yu's jaw dropped as a giant tower rose out of the school grounds, with various structures extending, twisting, and other things that shouldn't be capable for a bunch of glass and concrete. Finally, after mere minutes, the structure stopped expanding into what Yu assumed was its final form; besides all the mix matched, color coded sections, Yu was astonished by how high up the tower was, as it seemed like the tower's top stood near the moon's surface.

"This," Akihiko began, "is what we know as Tartarus. You can think of it as the Shadow's nest."

Yu nodded, still astonished by the tower's sheer scale."I see," he replied emotionlessly. "So what's it like in there?"

"I haven't been in there too often, but it's not too intimidating."

Yu looked at Akihiko curiously. "How's that?"

"The only Shadows that I've seen in there weren't all that tough, but after the first night or so we were in there, Mitsuru decided we should wait due to its size."

"So why go in now?" Yu asked. "Are you more comfortable going in just because you're training me now?"

Akihiko shook his head. "Not in the slightest. In fact, it doesn't even matter since Tartarus' floor structure changes from day to day."

 _Huh,_ Yu thought. _That sounds similar to the dungeons in the TV World. Just what else is similar between the two?_

"You alright there?" Akihiko asked.

Yu nodded. "Yeah. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"It's nothing important." Yu then turned back to the tower. "Well then, shall we go in?"

Akihiko nodded. "Alright," he replied as he smiled confidently. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear." Satisfied, the two moved to the front doors, and as Yu opened them, he was once again surprised by what he'd seen. The ground floor looked like it was in the shape of a perfect circle with a set of stairs that led up to a large clock. The walls looked like endless corridors tinted a familiar green, and there was another, smaller clock situated to the left of the stairs; on the opposite side, there was an unusual green device sitting there.

Yu whistled. "This is… crazy, to say the least," he spoke.

"Yeah," Akihiko replied. "I'd bet I even know exactly what you're thinking."

"I doubt it," Yu replied snarkily before approaching the steps. "So is the entrance through that clock?"

"Well, where else would you enter?"

Yu nodded. "Good point." In actuality, Yu could name a few ways to enter a foreign place, but he kept them to himself. "So are we going in?"

"First, try to summon your Persona right here."

"For safety reasons?" Yu asked understandingly.

Akihiko nodded. "Trust me, if one of us gets injured or worse, Mitsuru will be on the others' ass, and you know it."

Yu nodded. "I'll believe you there. She seems scary when she's mad."

Akihiko shuddered. "You don't know the half of it." He regained his composure pretty quickly. "Anyways, go ahead and summon it."

"Alright." As if on cue, Yu pulled out his new Evoker from its holster, held it up to the right side of his head like before, and placed his finger on the trigger. Unlike before, Yu felt a little uneasy and began to breathe a little heavier. Last time he needed to do it to save Akihiko, but would he be able to do it now?

"What're you waiting for?" Akihiko questioned.

"I'm a little nervous," Yu replied shakily.

"Just relax, and you'll be fine." With these words of encouragement, Yu nodded.

"PERSONA!" Yu shouted as he pulled the trigger. As blue shards emptied out from the other side of his head, Izanagi materialized in front of him.

"Huh," Akihiko replied in awe. "So this is your Persona."

"Yeah. His name is Izanagi, and he can use Zio skills."

Akihiko arched his eyebrow. "Like mine then?"

"I guess." Izanagi then disappeared. "The important thing is that he can be summoned, so let's get going."

"Alright," Akihiko agreed. "I'll lead the way."

* * *

The next floor wasn't as elegant as the previous one; in fact, the halls reminded him of the school's halls, only with fewer doors and more endless strings of green tinted windows, and the floor was covered with black and white tiles.

"So this is it, huh?" Yu asked.

"This is it," Akihiko replied. "It's not much, but we don't come here for the sights."

Yu nodded. "So, where to?"

"Let's just walk forward." He then eyeballed Yu's katana "And have your weapon at the ready."

Yu nodded. "Got it." He followed this by pulling out his katana from its sheath and slowly proceeding deeper into the unknown. Despite this, Yu felt a bit of comfort in his surroundings, as he'd grown used to this kind of exploration after a year of battling inside the TV world. The first stretch warranted no attention, but after rounding the first corner, Yu discovered his first opponent: a Cowardly Maya which, per the norm, looked more like a pile of sludge with a Magician Arcana mask.

"There's one," Akihiko pointed out. "Take it out!"

Yu didn't hesitate for a second as he pulled out his Evoker once more and placed it on his head. "IZANAGI!" Once the trigger was pulled, Izanagi appeared before Yu and Akihiko. "ZIO!" Like an obedient servant, Izanagi let out a bolt of lightning upon the helpless Shadow, which melted into nothingness in a fraction of a second, before it had a chance to react.

"Heh, not bad," Akihiko complimented.

"Watch out!" Yu shouted. "USE ZIO AGAIN!" Izanagi, once more, released a bolt of lightning, but this time it went behind Akihiko's back. As if on cue, Akihiko turned to see that Yu had taken out yet another Cowardly Maya, one that was about to attack the injured Akihiko.

"T-Thanks," Akihiko replied. "That makes two times, Yu."

"You're welcome," Yu replied. "Like you said, I don't want Mitsuru on my ass."

Akihiko chuckled. "I did say that, didn't I?" He then turned back to face the next long hallway. "Let's continue on."

"Right," Yu replied as he nodded. The rest of the floor went on like this for quite a while, but it didn't matter to either of them, since Yu was getting in adequate practice. In fact, by the time they reached that floor's stairwell, Izanagi apparently learned Cleave, even though Yu could've sworn it was a starter move before.

"So are we going to the next floor?" Yu asked.

Akihiko shrugged. "If you want. I won't stop you."

Yu nodded. "I can go a little longer. Let's go."

"I'll lead," Akihiko replied. As they reached the next floor, Yu was neither excited nor disappointed to learn that the next floor was largely unchanged from the previous one. Also as expected, the two continued to run into a few more Cowardly Mayas. That is, until they came across the next step up: the Merciful Maya. However, they were about as tough as the Cowardly Mayas, so another single bolt of lightning took them out.

After reaching that floor's stairs, both Yu and Akihiko grew bored. "This... has gotten pretty boring," Yu commented.

"You think so too?" Akihiko asked. "Do you want to go back? The Dark Hour will be over soon."

Yu nodded. "Yeah. I'm starting to feel tired anyways."

"Well, that's no surprise," Akihiko replied. "People tend to get more fatigued during the Dark Hour."

"Ahh, that's probably why."

"Besides, if you fall asleep fighting, what am I gonna do to protect myself?"

Yu nodded. "I get it. Let's head back." Yu didn't need to be guilted into leaving Tartarus anyways, since this feeling of exhaustion was all too familiar to him, and the both of them knew how that might end.

* * *

April 15:

"Hey again," Junpei greeted Yu after another long day of school.

"Óh, hey Junpei," Yu replied nonchalantly. It mostly had to do with the exhaustion he felt after his time during the Dark Hour last night, but Yu knew he would get used to it with time. "What's going on?"

"Well," Junpei started, "I noticed you were looking bored during class today, so I was coming to ask you if you wanted to hang out today."

"Umm…" Yu wasn't sure whether to accept or not, considering they'd just met. Then again, the same could be said about everyone else he'd met on all of his travels, and he'd talked to them all just fine. But on the other hand…

"I mean, I'm not pressuring you into anything," Junpei finally said to break Yu out of another trance. "I just thought it'd be a good idea to get to know you better. Maybe even become friends with you. Whaddaya say?"

Rather than contemplate some more, Yu simply nodded. "Alright."

Junpei's eyes lit up. "S-Seriously? Then let's go!" What followed was Junpei forcefully dragging Yu out of his seat, down the hall, down the stairs, and through the school grounds. While Yu should've felt some form of embarrassment, he just played along, even if several students were laughing at his supposed misfortune. At the very least, he was dragged to a familiar location, Hagakure Ramen, where he could actually get a bite to eat.

"So what're you hungry for?" Junpei asked.

Yu shrugged. "Surprise me."

Junpei faced the chef. "Two specials please!"

Yu looked to him in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"I told you I was a nice guy," Junpei replied.

 _Or you're trying too hard,_ Yu thought, but he wasn't going to decline the offer.

"So, while we're waiting," Junpei began, "mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Are you liking the school?"

Yu nodded. "I guess. The atmosphere seems friendly enough." He then looked to Junpei with a serious face. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just making sure you aren't intimidated by a new school. Like I said before, I know how it felt being the new transfer."

"Do you give this speech to all the new transfers, then?"

"Not all of them. Just the ones that interest me."

Yu frowned. "Please tell me you don't talk like this around the girls."

Junpei stammered. "H-Hey! I resent that!"

Yu chuckled. "Oh, calm down. I was kidding."

Junpei fumed. "It's still not funny!"

"Whatever you say." Yu then looked to the ceiling. "Even so, this place just doesn't feel like my old school."

"How's that?"

"It may sound weird, but at my last school, we were a much closer bunch than here. There were fewer of us there than here, so we knew each other better."

Junpei arched his eyebrow. "Does that mean you had a girlfriend?"

Yu stammered. "T-That doesn't concern you!"

"You did, didn't you?"

"Seriously, knock it off!"

"Alright, I'll stop." Junpei said this with more sincerity than before, since it seemed like he knew Yu was just getting angrier with every remark. In actuality, Yu was just trying to hold his memories back so that he didn't make a scene like at the hospital. Minutes went by in silence, with neither one saying anything. Eventually, their food arrived right before their eyes, leaving the two to slurp away for another few minutes.

"So, do you have any friends?" Yu asked after finishing up his food.

"A few," Junpei continued, "but no girlfriends yet."

"I don't know whether to be surprised or not."

"H-Hey! Did you have to sound like such a dick about it?"

"Sorry," Yu apologized. "It's just that I knew someone like you that also didn't have a girlfriend at my old school."

"Should I be honored by that?"

"Well, we were good friends, but I'm sure we don't know each other that well yet."

Junpei rubbed the back of his head. "Good point." Suddenly, he held out his hand to Yu. "Speaking of, would you still like to be friends with me?"

Although he hesitated for a few moments, Yu shook Junpei's hand. "Sure. It's not like I have that many right now."

Junpei's face lit up. "Awesome!" Junpei stood up, facing the door. "Well, if it's okay, I'm gonna get going. I've kinda got other things I want to go do."

"Go ahead. I was about to head out myself. C'ya later." Yu waved his hand goodbye to Junpei, which he cheerily returned before exiting the store. Soon after, Yu also exited, after which he decided to return to the dorm, even though some daylight remained in the sky.

* * *

"Oh, there he is." This was the first thing Yu heard when he entered the dorm. He knew it was Mitsuru's, but what caught him off guard was that Ikutsuki was there as well, and the last time he was there, it was to talk about the events regarding the Shadows. Knowing this, Yu decided to keep up his guard.

"Were you waiting for me?" Yu asked.

"We were," Ikutsuki replied with a solemn look on his face. "In fact, the reason I'm here today is because Mitsuru was telling me something interesting you told her and Akihiko last week."

Yu was intially confused, but then his eyes widened once he realized what they were referencing. _Oh, shit,_ he thought. _I should've seen this coming._

"What's with the long face, Narukami-san?" Mitsuru asked.

Yu recomposed himself before speaking once more. "Nothing. Go on."

"Back at the hospital," Mitsuru continued, "you mentioned to Akihiko and I that your parents were on a business trip."

 _Damn. Why wasn't I more careful!?_ Yu continued to panic internally while trying to look as calm as he could.

"But on your transfer documents," Ikutsuki continued, "it says that your parents are, in fact, deceased..."

Yu resisted the urge to crack, so he proceeded to answer with another lie. "Alright, you got me. I wanted to keep everyone from worrying about me, so I lied about my parents being on a business trip." He paused to collect his thoughts. "I just got overwhelmed with all the attention it garnered me back at my other school, so I didn't want to be overwhelmed here, too."

Mitsuru and Ikutsuki looked to each other for a moment and nodded before Mitsuru faced Yu. "I see," Mitsuru replied, surprised by Yu's "honesty". "Well then, Mr. Chairman..." She was suddenly interrupted by the front door opening. When everyone faced it, they were more or less surprised to see Akihiko coming in.

"Good evening, everyone," Akihiko greeted before surveying the scene in front of him: the chairman sitting in the lobby with Mitsuru and Yu standing close by; it didn't seem weird to him, but he did feel that there was something off about the atmosphere.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" he asked. "The atmosphere feels kinda… heavy."

Yu was the first to speak up. "Not really."

"Well actually..." Ikutsuki started before getting cut off by Mitsuru.

"He's right," she confirmed. "We were just discussing a few things with the chairman, that's all."

"A-Alright?" Akihiko stuttered, with a few more questions than before. "So Yu, are you feeling up to some training tonight?"

"I guess," Yu replied. "Maybe if I feel like wiping the floors with those wimpy piles of sludge."

Akihiko chuckled. "I know, they're a total joke. Just come find me if you're interested."

"Gotcha." As Akihiko walked up the stairs, Yu waved goodbye to him, which Akihiko generously returned as he disappeared from sight. With that distraction out of the way, Yu returned his gaze to Mitsuru and Ikutsuki.

"So does he know?" Yu asked Mitsuru.

Mitsuru shook his head. "No. And from the looks of things, I don't think he needs to."

"Indeed," Ikutsuki replied. "I've never seen Akihiko act so friendly towards another student, so I'd rather not complicate things more than we have to."

"I agree," Mitsuru added before returning her gaze back to Yu. "In any case, you should try to relax. Even Arisato-san's parents are dead, and we don't treat him any differently."

"Is that so?" Yu replied in the most sincere way possible. He was already told this by Yukari, but he didn't want to seem insensitive in front of Mitsuru OR the Chairman. "Well, I'm gonna go rest up in case I want to go train later."

"Alright." Mitsuru replied. "We'll see you later, then." Yu nodded before making his way to the stairs. As he climbed, Yu heard Mitsuru and Ikutsuki conversing some more, even if he wasn't the center of their attention anymore.

* * *

 **Welcome back loyal readers! As usual, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. But again, I ended it shorter than I wanted to, but I'm fine with it this time, for I have plenty in store for the next chapter. So here's an explanation for the last chunk of the chapter: when I was going over the first five chapters, editing bits I didn't realize I'd glossed over, I found that even though I marked Yu's parents as deceased in chapter 1, I accidentally had him say they were on a business trip rather than dead in later chapters. I was going to edit it out, but then I realized that I could make a few interesting situations with it, so there you go.**

 **Like I did before, I'd like to thank Asleep12hrs,** **Rosalinda Lancaster Leonhart, PickleToast, and Sulphur99 for leaving reviews, and to the others who favorited/followed for supporting me and this story; it's thanks to you that I keep the inspiration flowing, and I know that this can grow even more than it has. So until next time, I hope you keep on the story, and read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	7. A Hero Awakens

April 17:

"Uhh..." a voice moaned. Yu knew it was neither his nor Yukari's, but when he and Yukari turned their heads, they found that Arisato, after a week of sleeping, had finally awakened.

"Y-You're awake," Yukari stuttered, relieved by this revelation. "How're you feelin'?"

"W-Where am I?" the blue haired kid asked, half asleep. As Yu observed Arisato in his awakened state, he continued to feel a bit intimidated by the kid, whether it was the way Arisato's hair covered one eye or the near vacant expression in the other. Or maybe it was his continued lack of expression in his face. Honestly, it was hard for Yu to tell.

"Oh, thanks goodness you came to," Yukari continued as she engaged in small talk with Arisato over the course of several minutes: most of it was very similar to stuff that Yukari told Yu about the other day. Still, Yu couldn't help but feel that was unnecessary at the moment, considering Arisato had just woken up from a week long, coma-like state.

Finally, once Yukari finished talking, she proceeded to the door, stopping once to talk to Yu.

"Are you coming?" Yukari asked Yu.

Yu shook his head. "I'm gonna stay for a little while," he replied, eliciting either shock or surprise on Yukari's face. "I just want to talk to Arisato-san, that's all."

"O-Oh, alright. I'll let Mitsuru-senpai know that he woke up. Just don't stay too late."

Yu nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." And just like that, Yukari had walked out the door and made her way back to the dorm, while Yu approached the sleepy-eyed patient that remained in bed. Although Yu said himself a minute ago that Arisato didn't need to be pestered right now, he was still curious as to what kind of person Arisato was, and whether or not he was indeed a Wild Card.

As Yu approached him, Arisato turned his head to face Yu. "I-I know you from somewhere," Arisato said.

"You should," Yu replied as he took a seat in one of the chairs. "I was with you on the dorm rooftop."

"Who are you?" Arisato asked.

"I'm Yu Narukami, and I guess I'm your new dorm mate. And your name is Arisato, correct?"

Arisato nodded weakly. "Y-Yes. I'm Minato Arisato."

Yu nodded. "Well then, It's nice to meet you. Shall I call you Minato?"

"..." Minato said nothing, almost as a form of protest.

"N-Never mind," Yu stuttered. "Anyways, thanks for your help that night."

"..." Again, Minato said nothing to Yu despite how friendly he was trying to be, which left Yu dumbfounded. He knew Minato was capable of casual conversation, so Yu came to the conclusion that either Minato didn't like Yu, or that he needed a hook to get him to talk.

"Can I ask you something?" Yu asked. Minato nodded weakly. "Did you have a weird dream? L-Like this weird room with a bluish color and..."

"Y-You mean the Velvet Room?" Minato asked in deadpan.

Yu nodded. "So you've seen it?"

"And I guess you've seen it too?"

Again, Yu nodded. "I have."

"Does that mean..."

"I think so," Yu said as he checked the time, "but save your strength. We'll have time to figure it out later, alright?"

Minato nodded.

Yu stood back up, stretched, and began walking to the door. "Alright, I'll see you later."

"Yeah, later," Minato replied as Yu closed the room's door behind him.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Yu asked Akihiko as they approached Tartarus. The noise, according to Yu, was definitely a person crying.

"I did," Akihiko replied. "Sounds like the Shadows took another victim."

"That makes sense," Yu agreed, "but let's find the source to be sure. Something about it just doesn't sit right with me."

"I don't know," Akihiko said, unsure of whether or not tracking this down was worth it.

"Look, if there's a possibility of saving someone," Yu continued, "then we should go for it. Think about if it was someone you cared for." Suddenly, Akihiko went silent, and when Yu turned to see what was wrong, he saw Akihiko standing still, a horrified expression on his face that Yu had only seen once before; in addition, it looked like Akihiko was close to crying.

"Are you alright?" Yu finally asked worriedly.

Akihiko's expression immediately brightened. "Yeah. You're right, let's go."

Yu nodded. "Alright. You sure you're okay?"

Akihiko's expression grew angrier. "I'm fine. Do you think I'm not?"

Yu shook, slightly worried. "No. You just looked like you were lost in thought."

Akihiko mellowed, then shrugged. "Guess I was. Don't worry too much about it."

"If you say so." Yu wasn't completely sure if Akihiko was emotionally sound, but they needed to hop to it before the Shadows got to whoever was crying. As the two began tracking the source of the noise, Yu observed the sights of Iwatodai during the Dark Hour; other than the moon and the green hue, puddles of blood littered the streets, and coffins, much like before, were littering the sidewalks and in the vehicles that happened to be passing through before midnight.

"So this is what happens to ordinary people during the Dark Hour?" Yu asked, even though he knew this was the case.

"Yeah," Akihiko replied. "Those who don't have the potential transmogrify into coffins, completely oblivious to the Dark Hour."

Yu nodded. "I remember that. And those without the potential that aren't in a coffin..." Yu went silent at the thought of Shadows attacking defenseless citizens.

Akihiko nodded sadly. "Yeah, but it seems as though more and more people have been affected lately."

Yu nodded. "I noticed that too. I was doing my own research myself."

Akihiko was impressed. "Is that so? I guess you like to be ahead of the game."

"You have no idea." Yu and Akihiko finally found the source of the crying: a Gekkoukan student sobbing outside a convenience store. However, something was off about this one, as his voice sounded eerily familiar. In fact, there was only one person the two of them could match the voice to.

"Junpei?" Yu and Akihiko called in unison. Suddenly, the student stopped crying, turned to the duo, and revealed himself as the baseball cap-wearing, goatee-sporting Junpei.

"H-Huh?" Junpei asked. "Akihiko-senpai? A-And Narakami-san?"

"What are you doing here?" Yu asked sincerely.

"O-Oh. Uhh..." Junpei seemed a little sheepish to respond.

"It's alright," Akihiko reassured. "Just tell us what happened."

"Y-You see," Junpei began, "I just came here to grab a few things, but then the power went out, coffins showed up everywhere, and..."

"Alright, Junpei," Akihiko replied, waving his hand to cut Junpei off. "I get the picture."

"S-So," Junpei began again, "what's your guys' story? Why are you both walking around while everyone else is turned into a coffin?"

Yu was the first to respond. "Well… how do I put this?"

"We have a special power," Akihiko followed up. "And what you're experiencing is the Dark Hour, a time between one day and the next that only those with this power can be conscious to."

"T-The Dark Hour?" Junpei questioned, but before he could get an answer, his eyes widened. "Wait, does that mean..."

Yu nodded. "Yeah. You must have the same power we do." Yu then turned to Akihiko. "Right?"

Akihiko nodded. "I think so."

"Y-You serious?"

"Only one way to find out," Akihiko replied before facing Yu. "Yu, give him your Evoker."

Yu hesitated for a few seconds before nodding in approval. "Alright." Pulling his Evoker out of its holster, Yu held it out to Junpei, which Junpei nervously accepted.

"So, how do I use this thing?" Junpei asked.

"Point it at your head," Akihiko began, "then pull the trigger."

"T-That's it? You're asking me to shoot myself?"

"You'll be fine," Yu reassured. "Trust me."

"And why should I..."

"I trust you, don't I?" Yu replied sincerely before Junpei could finish. Despite similar reluctance, Junpei nodded, put the Evoker to right side of his head, and shakily pulled the trigger, and out came blue shards and Junpei's very own Persona: a tall black, humanoid being, wearing a gold helmet with wings on both sides, and a similar, larger set of wings attached to its body.

When Junpei turned to look at his Persona, Yu whistled.

"I thought so," Akihiko added.

"T-This is..."

"Yes," Yu replied. "It's the power we have: Persona."

"P-Persona?"

"I know you must have some questions," Akihiko added, "but those can be answered at another time. The question I have for you is this: will you join us and the others?"

"Y-You serious?" Junpei asked.

Akihiko nodded. "Very."

Junpei pumped his fist. "Then hell yeah! Count me in!"

Akihiko's expression brightened. "Wow," Akihiko remarked. "You've sure got more enthusiasm than I thought!"

Yu nodded. "I can't wait to work alongside you."

While Yu spoke, Junpei wore a stupid, silly grin. "You can count on me!" Junpei pronounced. "But, uh, why is everything so dark around here?"

"Well," Akihiko began, "everything that runs on machines is inoperable during the Dark Hour, and unlike us, normal people get sealed in coffins during this time."

"Ohhh, that explains it."Junpei looked around, now awe struck by what he was seeing. "So, what should I do?"

"Go back home and pack your things. Since you have the Potential, we're gonna have you moved into our dorm."

"F-For real?" Junpei's expression suddenly changed to that of a mischievous one after that. "Wait, is it co-ed?"

"You sure to get to the point," Yu replied in disbelief, considering how that comment reminded him of something Teddie would ask.

"Can you really blame me?" Junpei asked.

"...Good point."

"And yes," Akihiko replied bluntly. "Yes it is."

"Sweet," Junpei replied softly, but both Akihiko and Yu could still hear him clearly.

"So I guess we're done for the night?" Yu whispered to Akihiko.

"Yeah," Akihiko whispered back. "Let's just walk him home and we'll head back."

Yu nodded. "Gotcha."

* * *

April 18:

As Yu walked through the front gate of the school with Junpei, he noticed that Minato was among those filing in.

"Hey there, Arisato-san!" Yu shouted to the blue haired kid, who made his way to him and Junpei in the most casual way possible.

"It looks like you're feeling much better," Yu complemented.

"Yeah, what he said," Junpei butted in. "So what were you out for? Stomachache?"

Minato shook his head.

Yu frowned. "I already told you," he began, correcting Junpei, "the doctors said it was exhaustion." Yu then looked back to Minato. "Isn't that right?"

Minato nodded. "That's right."

Junpei's eyes widened. "Whoa! You can actually get something to come out of his mouth?"

Yu tilted his head. "Does he usually not talk?"

"I didn't say that," Junpei said as he put his arm around Minato's shoulders. "He just tends to get a little touchy sometimes."

"What did I say about my personal space?" Minato growled, and as Junpei pulled back his arm, Yu let out a small chuckle. As he did, the first bell rang, which was their cue to make their way to their classroom.

* * *

Once class ended, Yu decided that, since it was nearly impossible to get much out of Minato's mouth, he would walk back to the dorm with Yukari; he didn't have a crush on her, he just wanted to talk with her again since he enjoyed talking with her.

"So," Yu began as the two walked, "what now since Arisato-san has woken up?"

"Mitsuru-senpai said we need to explain everything to him this evening," Yukari replied.

"Like what happened with me?"

Yukari nodded. "Exactly."

"I see."

Yukari quickly changed the subject. "So... I heard you were out training with Akihiko for the past week."

Yu nodded. "I was."

"Why?"

He thought about his answer. "Well, he asked if I was interested, and I said yes." He paused. "I also knew I was going to need the practice anyways, since I tend to grow impatient doing nothing for long stretches of time."

Yukari smirked slightly. "Ah, so you need practice just as much as he does?"

"No, not like that," Yu continued. "See, I used to be in a kendo club, and I was a little out of practice with swords. So, I needed to make sure I was still comfortable with the way my weapon of choice felt."

"O-Oh, I see," Yukari nodded. "Now that I think about, if I were out of practice with my bow for as long as you were, then I'm sure I'd need something like what you worked out."

"So you get it?"

Yukari nodded. "Yeah, I think so." She then frowned. "But Akihiko-senpai really shouldn't be moving around all that much with his injury."

Yu nodded in agreement. "I know, but like I said, he insisted, and while he showed me the ropes, I acted as his bodyguard."

"His bodyguard? That's actually an entertaining thought."

Yu arched his eyebrow. "Do you mean that in a bad way?"

Yukari shook her head. "Not really. But if it was someone like JUNPEI acted as his bodyguard..."

Yu snickered a little. "Yeah, that does sound a little funny." As he said this, Yu looked up for the first time in what felt like minutes and found that they'd made their way back to the monorail station in seemingly record time.

"Well," Yu began in monotone, "it didn't take too long to get back here, did it?"

"Yeah," Yukari replied. "It makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

Yu nodded. "Yeah, it does." He paused, then continued walking. "Well then, shall we get going?"

Yukari nodded. "Yeah. Let's go." They then boarded the outgoing monorail, which sped its way back to Iwatodai with ease.

* * *

 **Hello all, and sorry for what may be considered a slight delay, since I usually like to release new Persona Fusion chapter every week; but in between a busier few days than usual and being downright lazy, I spent a little longer than I wanted to on this chapter. But just to recap, we now have our "friendly" hero Minato (Makoto) awake and walking again, and if you don't like the fact that I may have rushed this part of the fanfic, I apologize, but I just wanted to pick things up in pace a little so as to not make things feel slow.**

 **Don't worry thought, for I hope to get the next chapter up a little sooner than you're getting this one, so don't unfollow just yet. And speaking of the fans, I want to thank M14Mouse and guest cutiepie15 for leaving reviews for the last chapter, and hopefully (and expectedly), you all can help bring my fanfic more visibility and popularity, because that's ultimately what all content creators hope to achieve.**

 **Read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	8. One Sleepless Night

"...kami..." a voice called to Yu. "...ukami… Narukami!"

Yu twitched his eyes open and looked around; he was surprised to see that he was sitting at a table at Junes of all places. Even stranger, he was surrounded by all of his friends from Inaba: Yosuke, Chie, Kanji, everyone; heck, even the Junes jingle was playing in the background.

 _What's going on?_ Yu asked himself. _Was I just dreaming?_

"Hey, you're awake," Rise exclaimed, then frowned. "What happened? One minute we were discussing the case, and the next thing we know, you pass out in your seat."

Yu rubbed his forehead. "I don't know," Yu replied. "I... I feel like I just had a weird dream."

"Really?" Yukiko asked curiously. "What was it about?"

"I…" Yu attempted to remember, but after a moment, he shook his head disappointingly. "I can't remember."

Yosuke shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it doesn't really matter," he replied. "We've still got a long way before this case is cracked, so we need to give this thing our all!"

Yu nodded confidently. "Right. Where were we on that?"

"We were just at the part where you **fail,** " Yukiko said in a demonic, monotone voice.

Yu looked at Yukiko, confused. "W-What do you mean by that, Yukiko?" Yu asked, nervously.

" **You know exactly what I mean, Yu Narukami,** " Yukiko replied as her face began to melt. Yu bolted to his feet, backing away from his friends as they all began to melt into Shadows; as this happened, fire began to spread throughout the food court, much to Yu's horror.

" **Don't you see?** " the same voice asked as the Shadows began to mold into a new form. " **This silly little charade was doomed from the start, so what does it matter if you survive to the bitter end?** " Finally, the Shadows solidified, revealing their final form: Izanami-no-Okami.

"I-It's you?" Yu asked shakily.

" **Of course,** " Izanami replied. " **I'm always watching you, no matter my form. And now that I've got you, I'm going to kill you!** "

Yu's eyes widened in shock, and in horror. "Say what!? But I'm not done here yet!"

Izanami bellowed in evil laughter. " **Did you really think that a goddess such as myself would actually respect a promise with a mere mortal?** " Izanami raised all of her endless hands into the sky as, consequently, a circle of darkness enveloped the ground under Yu, which began to suck him in.

"Ugh!" Yu moaned in pain. "W-What... is… this?"

" **Farewell, Yu Narukami!** " Izanami replied heartlessly. " **Enjoy your handmade hell, compliments of me!** " As she said this, Yu's vision was enveloped in darkness, leaving him trapped within the grasp of death.

* * *

"Ahhhhhh!" Yu screamed as he bolted up from his slumber. He looked around, finding himself back in his dorm room. He felt his face, then his body; he was fine, but was also completely drenched in sweat.

 _W-What the hell!?_ Yu thought to himself. _What was up with that dream? Am I really so worried about this?_ He wasn't sure about the meaning of his dream yet, but it did provide him with some perspective as to the consequences of failure. With that in mind, Yu laid his head back on his pillow, but even after twenty minutes, he was unable to sleep; in fact, he waited for the gentle grasp of sleep for so long, the Dark Hour had commenced once more.

 _It's begun again, huh?_ Yu thought. _You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I'm just not._ With nothing else better to do, Yu got up, dressed in his pajamas, slipped on his slippers, and walked out to the hall. First, he went to the end of the hallway to the vending machines, and bought a soda to try taking his mind off of his nightmare. Next, he walked downstairs, hoping to find someone awake in the lounge; disappointingly for Yu, there was no one was there.

 _I guess no one's up,_ Yu thought. _Maybe there's someone up in the command room?_ Believing this to be the case, he decided to climb up the four flights of stairs to get to the fourth floor, and walked up to the command room's door. Yu slowly put his hand to the doorknob, pushed the door open, and was greeted with an easing sight: he saw Mitsuru, sitting in front of a bank of monitors, looking as if she were attentively focusing on them. Then, perhaps because of the noise the door made as Yu shut it closed, Mitsuru looked to Yu for a brief moment before returning her gaze to the console.

"Couldn't sleep?" Mitsuru asked.

Yu shook his head. "I had a bad dream."

"It may be because you're not quite used to Iwatodai yet," Mitsuru suggested.

"You may be right," Yu replied, nodding in agreement. "But man, the Dark Hour is still quite a hurdle to overcome. How do you all even deal with it? Other than Akihiko, I mean. I know he loves to train."

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes, he does like to train to cope with it," she replied as if she wore a smile on her face. "But really, the only way to adjust is to acclimate to the conditions of the Dark Hour over time. I've been aware of it since I was a child, so I've had quite the head start over the others."

"I see," Yu remarked. "So, what're you doing there then?"

"I'm just looking at the cameras. It's what I do to cope nowadays." Pushing a few buttons, Mitsuru pulled up Minato's room, in which the blue haired kid himself was snoozing peacefully in his bed; while Yu observed this, slightly disturbed by what he was seeing, he took a seat on one of the couches.

"You know, Narukami-san," Mitsuru began, "Arisato-san surprised us days ago when he showed up at the dorm. He could sleep through the Dark Hour without difficulty." She paused, turning her chair to return her gaze to Yu. "And then there was you. You summoned a Persona on your first night and still managed to make it here without collapsing, and while assisting Akihiko no less."

Yu nodded. "I still can't believe that either," he agreed. "And if I'm being honest, I don't know if I feel comfortable around Arisato-san just yet."

Mitsuru chuckled softly. "I understand. That night on the rooftop must've been a little unsettling. I know that Akihiko and I felt that way, and we were safely observing through a monitor."

Yu nodded. "You have no idea how it felt in person." After that comment, the two of them grew silent as Mitsuru turned back her chair, tapping away back at the consoles, recieving visuals of nearly everything in the area, from the dorm rooms, to the monorail stations, and to Tartarus itself.

"By the way," Mitsuru began, "thanks again for agreeing to help us. You and Arisato-san both."

"Hmm?" Yu asked before nodding. "O-Oh, it's no problem."

"You don't understand. With you and him on the case, we may be able to figure out why the Dark Hour and Tartarus came to be... and maybe even how to get rid of it." It was at this point that Yu's objective finally became clear to him: he needed to help figure out how to get rid of the Dark Hour, since obviously it doesn't show up in his proper time. Not only that, but thanks to this conversation, Yu was able to feel the gratitude Mitsuru was feeling about his willingness to help.

Suddenly, a crashing noise went off in his head; however, this noise was very familiar, as even before the Empress tarot card filled his view, he knew that this phenomenon meant he'd just formed a Social Link.

 **Thou Art I… And I Am Thou… Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Empress Arcana.**

After this, the card disappeared, and a blue veil surrounded him for a few moments before vanishing. Yu wanted to say that this was his first social link he'd made until he remembered that, during the meeting earlier that night to recruit Minato, the members of SEES became his Fool social link; he thought maybe his exhaustion was the reason he'd forgotten, but it didn't matter now.

Once he was sure it was over, Yu stood up and headed for the door. "Well, thanks for letting me stay a while," Yu thanked, "but I'm gonna try sleeping again."

Mitsuru turned her head to Yu, revealing a cool, polite smile that, for once, gave Yu the impression that they could call themselves not just teammates, but acquaintances too. "Then good night, Narukami-kun."

Yu was momentarily surprised by that, but then replied to Mitsuru with a proper, "And a good night to you too, Kirijo-senpai."

* * *

After falling asleep, Yu awoke once more to find himself in the Velvet Room, and like before it was inhabited by Margaret; what was a surprise from before, though, was that Igor had finally returned for the first time since Yu arrived in Iwatodai.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor greeted.

"It's you, Igor," Yu replied, relieved. "Am I glad to see you again."

"Likewise," Igor added. "It appears that you've been going through quite the ordeal for the past week or so."

Yu nodded. "Yeah, you can say that again. I guess Margaret filled you in?"

"I sure did," Margaret replied. "And it appears that you've been following my advice quite well since last time."

Yu nodded. "I have. I've even formed two social links so far."

"I see," Igor replied. "It seems that you've been taking advantage of your time here the best you can, given the circumstances."

"So," Yu began, "I have a few questions I'd like answered."

Igor nodded. "Like?"

"Firstly, Igor, do you have knowledge of the other Wild Card I was sent back in time to assist?"

Again, Igor nodded. "Indeed. In fact, that very same guest was the reason I was absent before."

"So are you going to offer me your services once again?"

Igor nodded once again. "Your journey is not yet concluded, so until you fulfill your contract, I will be here to offer you my assistance."

"Alright," Yu began, "the second question is for Margaret."

"...Yes?" she asked.

"Remember how before, I crushed a tarot card to summon my Persona?"

Margaret nodded. "Yes. What of it?"

"Since I arrived in this time, I've become unable to do so. Do you have any idea why?" Margaret spent a few moments contemplating this question, leaving Yu anxious for any kind of explanation. In fact, Margaret even whispered in her master's ear for any ideas as to why Yu's method of summoning Personas was different.

Finally, Margaret faced Yu. "It appears that like how your possessions were left behind, many of your abilities have regressed in one way or another. The way you summoned your Persona before required accepting your own Shadow; but here, it's as if you never accepted it in the first place, which may explain your new method of summoning."

"Or maybe Izanami made it that way in order to 'challenge' me," Yu suggested.

Margaret nodded. "That could be a definite possibility," she continued. "But, I wouldn't worry about it for now, loyal guest."

"So, is there anything that you know for certain?" Yu asked.

"Given current conditions," Igor began, "you have still retained your power of the Wild Card, which means there's still hope that you may yet be sent back to your proper time and place. After all, do you remember what I said about your abilities?"

Yu nodded. "It's full of infinite opportunities."

Igor nodded back. "Good. Always remember this as you continue on your travels. Although my free time will become sparse soon enough, come again of your own accord, as you have before."

Yu nodded. "I understand."

"I may try to help you in finding the answers you desire," Igor continued, "but for now, you must return to your world."

"Thank you Igor," Yu thanked.

Igor nodded. "Until that time, farewell," he replied as Yu's vision of the Velvet Room began to fade.

* * *

 **And, here we are again, the point where I upload a new chapter a few days after uploading a new chapter. First things first, I know some of you may think that this chapter may be a little bit shorter than the last one (and is undoubtably the shortest chapter yet), but its one of those moments where I felt that extending it wouldn't seem right, so that's why it may seem shorter than earlier chapters. Hopefully, though, the quality of what was there was enough to satisfy you.**

 **Also no promises, but maybe on certain weeks, I may upload an extra chapter, since when that happens, I get a stroke of ideas that helps to streamline my writing. Regardless, I know you'll stick with me, even if I inevitably write an off/bad chapter. Next on the agenda, I'd like to thank Spider's Claw, Lovadren, and Sulphur99 for leaving reviews (and on that note, Sulphur99, it wasn't just you; the last chapter felt short even for me while I was writing it), and to all the new readers, please don't hesitate to review if you want to give me an honest opinion of my writing; like I've said before, I'm writing for you guys, so always let me know if something is off, and I'll do my best to fix it.**

 **Anyways, I am seriously out of time, so until the next chapter, read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	9. A Whole Lotta Social Links

April 19:

When Yu twitched his eyes open, light was streaming into his room once more. At last, the longest night he'd experienced was over, and for once, he had more answers than questions. Although he still had questions regarding his current situation, Yu decided not to worry too much about them today; other than the fact that he wasn't hurting anything, it was Sunday, so Yu could finally have another day off from all the insanity; so, after getting changed into a more casual outfit, he left his room for the day, walked down to the first floor, and headed towards the front door, while Mitsuru sat on one of the lounge chairs reading a book.

"Good morning, Kirijo-senpai," Yu greeted. "Are you the only one here?"

Mitsuru shook her head. "No. Arisato-san is apparently still sleeping."

"Oh." Yu replied. "Well, are you going out somewhere today?"

Again, Mitsuru shook her head. "I usually just stay here," Mitsuru replied.

"Oh, okay," Yu acknowledged. "Well, I'm going out."

"Have a good time," Mitsuru encouraged. Yu replied with a nod, then walked out the front door, deciding to head over to the nearby strip mall to find someplace to kill time. Besides the ramen place, the only real options Yu had were a takoyaki stand, a few restaurants, and a bookstore; he wasn't hungry now, so he decided to see if the bookstore was open; he was slightly disappointed to find out that not only was it closed, it would remain closed until that Saturday, the 25th.

"Aw, that sucks," Yu said to himself.

"I know," a voice replied behind Yu, which almost made him jump backwards; Yu turned around to see that rather than some sort of ghost (which he didn't believe in anyways), it was a girl with pale skin and teal-colored hair, dressed in a black turtleneck under a light green poncho, a faded green skirt, black leggings and black shoes.

"...And you are?" Yu asked.

"Huh? W-Well, it's..." the girl stammered, as if she was uncomfortable with casual conversation.

Yu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I-I'm sorry," Yu stammered. "You don't have to tell me." Yu paused, then began again. "Anyways, I guess you like coming to this bookstore?"

The girl nodded softly. "I guess. I come here sometimes when I have little to do."

Yu nodded. "I know that feeling."

The girl then looked to Yu. "E-Excuse me for asking, but do you go to Gekkoukan High?"

Yu nodded confidently. "Yeah. I just transferred here about a week ago. Why? Do you?"

She nodded nervously. "I... I do."

"Then how come I don't see you there? I'd remember a face like yours if I saw it before."

"H-Huh…?" As if she wasn't already flustered by Yu previous comment, this time she was blushing profusely.

Yu shook his hands frantically. "O-Oh, I'm sorry," Yu apologized. "That came out wrong! Forget I said that."

Instantly, the girl's blush faded. "O-Oh. I see."

"Still though," Yu continued, "what's your name? I mean, if it's not too much to ask."

"Fuuka. F-Fuuka Yamagishi."

"Well then, Fuuka," Yu began, "I hope I see you around at school sometime."

Again, Fuuka nodded rather softly. "S-Sure. Goodbye." Fuuka then turned around and walked away at a frantic pace.

 _What's with that girl?_ Yu thought. _She takes social anxiety to a whole new level._

"Yu!" a voice shouted. When Yu turned his head in the voice's direction, he saw Akihiko trying to get his attention.

Yu waved his hand and began walking towards him. "Hey Akihiko," Yu greeted. "What brings you here?"

Akihiko shrugged. "I was just headed to Hagakure Ramen. Wanna come with?" Yu actually stopped to think about the possible benefits. On the one hand, if he chose to hang out with Akihiko, there's the possibility of starting a social link with him (which Yu was surprised he hadn't started already). But on the other hand, Yu also wasn't hungry at that moment, but he knew that he would be eventually, so Yu just turned back to Akihiko and nodded.

"Sure," Yu replied. "Lead the way."

* * *

"So how do you feel about the special?" Akihiko asked.

Yu shrugged. "That's fine."

"Alright then," Akihiko replied, turning his head to the chef. "Two extra large specials please!"

Yu stared at Akihiko in disbelief. "You sure about that?" he asked.

Akihiko nodded confidently. "Yeah. After all, I haven't been able to properly thank you for saving my life."

"You're still hung up on that?" Yu asked.

"You don't understand, Yu," Akihiko continued. "That feeling of helplessness I felt being strangled by the very thing I vowed to fight against was… how do I put it?"

"Overpowering?" Yu suggested.

"Something like that. But anyways, remember when..." Suddenly, Akihiko grew silent.

Yu tilted his head. "What? Is something wrong?"

Akihiko shook his head. "Just forget what I said. Maybe one day, I'll be in the mood to tell you about my past."

Yu wanted to speak up, but he eventually nodded. "So I guess I'm on the right path?"

Akihiko shrugged. "Yeah. I think so." He paused, then frowned at Yu.

Yu noticed. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Actually," Akihiko began, "I had another reason for asking you hear like this."

Yu then frowned too. "I don't like where this is going."

Akihiko sighed, then looked Yu in the eye. "What really happened the other night? You know, with Ikutsuki and Mitsuru?"

Yu shook his head. "I don't know what you're talking about. It was just a normal conversation."

Akihiko shook his head back. "Whenever Ikustuki shows up unannounced like that, it's never just to chat." He went silent, then continued with a darker expression than from a moment ago. "L-Look, I know you didn't want anyone to know, but... I secretly overheard you conversation."

Yu's expression grew sullen. "So you know..."

Akihiko nodded sadly. "Yeah." He paused. "I tried to play it off as no big deal, but when I heard Mitsuru suggest you wanted to keep the truth from me... I admit, I felt a little betrayed."

Yu looked to Akihiko. "You mean you don't care either?"

Akihiko shook his head. "I may not be that bright, or even that sensitive to other people, but I'm not oblivious." He then held his hand out. "Let's start over. Right here, right now. You promise not to keep anything from me, and I'll tell you what you want to know down the line."

Yu, awestruck by the level of understanding Akihiko demonstrated, shook Akihiko's hand. "You've got a deal," he replied kindly. As he stared into Akihiko's eyes, he finally realized that Akihiko might not be as simple of a guy than he'd originally thought; he may look the part of a tough guy on the outside, but he was really just another man, struggling with something from his past while also trying to lead others in the right direction.

Then, the crashing noise went off in Yu's head, and the Emperor tarot card appeared before his eyes, indicating a new social link was started.

 **Thou Art I… And I Am Thou… Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Emperor Arcana.**

Then, just as suddenly, the card disappeared and a blue veil surrounded Yu for a moment before vanishing. Once Yu returned to reality, the food Akihiko had ordered moments earlier finally arrived, and Akihiko's expression grew cheerier once again.

"Our food's here,"Akihiko announced. "Go ahead and eat up! We've got to get Junpei set up at the dorm later."

"Oh, right," Yu replied. "You gonna need help?"

Akihiko nodded. "If you're asking for an invitation, then yes. Now eat up before it gets cold!"

Yu nodded. "Right!"

* * *

"Ugh, how much do you have in here?" Yu asked Junpei as they walked down the quiet city sidewalk. After Yu and Akihiko finished up their meal, their next step was to meet up with Junpei and lead him in the direction of the dorm; but when they showed up, it turned out that not only was Junpei prepared, he was also a little over prepared, and with Yu being the nice guy he is, he decided to help out by carrying the biggest suitcase Junpei had packed, while Akihiko led the way.

"Oh you know, the basics," Junpei replied.

"Well, I get the feeling I don't want to know exactly what you mean."

"Hey!" Junpei shouted, offended by Yu's comment.

Yu shook his head defensively. "I don't mean it in a bad way, but this seems like a little overkill to me."

"Tell you what: I'll make it up to you later. Do you know how hard it would be carrying everything by myself?"

Yu nodded in agreement. "Alright. I'll hold you to that promise."

Junpei let out a toothy grin. "Don't worry. I always honor my promises."

 _We'll see about that,_ Yu thought, and before he or Junpei knew it, all three of them were stopped in front of the dorm.

"Just wait out here," Akihiko demanded. "I need to go get the others down."

"Sure thing," Yu replied as Akihiko disappeared behind the front door. Then, Yu turned to Junpei. "So has Akihiko told you much about us?"

"Well, sort of," Junpei replied.

"So did he tell you who else is with us?" Yu asked.

"Y-Yeah. There's him, you, Mitsuru-senpai, Arisato-san, and Yuka-tan, right?"

Yu nodded in confirmation. "Yeah."

"Hold up," Junpei began mid-realization, "so when Arisato-san was in the hospital, was it..."

Yu nodded. "Yeah. It was because of his first Persona summoning."

Junpei nodded in acknowledgement. "I see."

"And believe me," Yu recounted, "it wasn't a pretty sight."

Junpei's curiosity was piqued. "So hold on, how was YOUR first Persona summoning?"

"Oh, not much. I got off the monorail, bumped into Akihiko, and I had to save his ass from a Shadow."

Junpei whistled in amazement. "Really?"

Yu nodded. "Really." He paused. "By the way, I didn't say it before, but I'd like for you to call me Yu if we're gonna be working together."

Junpei nodded. "Of course. Ain't that also what being friends is all about?"

Yu arched his eyebrow. "You think of me as a friend?"

Junpei nodded enthusiastically. "Sure! Don't you?"

"I guess," Yu replied uncertainly. "You've been the friendliest person besides Akihiko I've met here, so that's something."

"So is that a yes?"

Yu sighed, overwhelmed by Junpei's excitement. "Yeah," he replied. "Just tone it down a little. You don't need to be so excited all the time."

"No worries." He punched Yu's arm playfully. "Just don't act so serious all the time, got it?"

Yu looked at Junpei, confused. "I'm not acting too serious."

"That's not the impression I got."

Yu smiled lightly. "If you say so." Although a little overwhelmed, Yu could feel that Junpei was trying his best to be a friend, albeit in an over the top way; still, it was a good balance with Akihiko's more ambitious personality, and that's not really a bad thing.

Like earlier, the crashing noise went off in Yu's head as the Magician tarot card appeared before his eyes.

 **Thou Art I… And I Am Thou… Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana.**

Also like before, the card disappeared and the same blue veil surrounded Yu for a moment before vanishing, although this clockwork occurrence was already growing old to him after just a few new links, and there was no telling who he'd make a link with next.

"Hey!" Akihiko yelled from inside. "Hurry up out there!"

Junpei and Yu responded by hurriedly pulling up the big suitcase up the dorm's short flight of steps. "Hold your horses," Junpei replied, strained. "Do you know how heavy this is?" Fortunately, it didn't take anymore than a few seconds for the two of them to make it to the front door, of which Yu held open while Junpei pushed his stuff in, after which Yu followed him in.

"Junpei?!" Yukari shouted in surprise from inside.

"This is Junpei Iori from class 2-F. He'll be staying here from now on."

"HE'S staying HERE? You gotta be kidding me!"

"Believe me," Yu began, "I was surprised too. After all, I was there to experience his potential first hand."

"F-For real?" Yukari asked. "HE has the Potential?"

"Yeah," Junpei replied. "They found me crying like a baby at the convenience store, surrounded by coffins." He grinned. "I don't remember much, but man was that embarrassing."

 _It was actually quite amusing to me,_ Yu thought to himself, and he understandably kept that to himself since he didn't want to raise any tensions.

"In any case," Akihiko continued, "once I told him about us, he agreed to help."

"And you're sure that crap like being confused and not remembering much is normal for us, Akihiko-senpai?" Junpei asked

Akihiko nodded. "Yeah."

"That didn't happen to me," Minato replied promptly.

"I was tired," Yu began, "but nothing like that happened to me either."

"Psh! Big deal," Junpei snapped back. "It happens to the rest of us." After this, Junpei's expression changed significantly. "But man, was I surprised to hear about you guys. I had no idea, but that doesn't really say much." He then smiled kindly. "At least now I know I'm not the only one. It could've gotten real lonely on my own." Once again, Junpei's expression changed as he leered at Yukari. "I bet you're stoked I'm joining. Riiight, Yuka-tan?!"

Yu looked to Yukari, but rather than the face of joy Junpei was likely expecting, she instead looked like she was cringing. "H-Huh?" she stuttered with a funny look on her face. "Uhh, yeah..."

"Well, that's enough with the introductions," Akihiko added.

 _That was more like getting us up to speed, but alright,_ Yu thought.

"With this many people, we might soon begin exploring that place."

"You mean Tartarus, right?" Yu asked.

Junpei looked to Yu and Akihiko. "Tartarus? What's that, and why does it sound like toothpaste?"

 _Always has to be a joke doesn't it?_ Yu thought. _Ah, well. It's not like Ikutsuki's bad puns._

Akihiko continued. "We think we may be able to find an explanation behind the Dark Hour there."

Much like Junpei, Yukari's expression changed upon hearing this statement. "I sure hope so."

"In any case," Akihiko continued, "the Chairman will be here tomorrow night to explain the details, so be prepared."

"So are we excused now?" Minato asked in deadpan.

"You sure didn't waste any time asking that," Yu added.

Akihiko nodded. "Yes, everyone is dismissed," he replied, which was followed by Minato walking past everyone and out the front door, leaving everyone slightly confused.

"Should I go follow him?" Yu suggested.

Akihiko shrugged. "It's your call."

Yu shrugged back. "I'm gonna go. I gotta see what he's up to." Not waiting for any objections, Yu walked out the front door, and although he'd lost sight of Minato, he knew that there was really only one place Minato would be: Paulownia Mall. As he made his way to the mall, Yu thought about how unassuming Minato was thus far; although Minato held up a stoic demeanor while asleep, he turned out to be very vacant, reserved, and blunt, and Yu wasn't quite sure how to approach him in terms of casual conversation.

Finally, at Paulownia Mall, Yu went down the back alley, expecting Minato to be standing blankly in front of the Velvet door, and sure enough, he was. Curiously, Yu moved over to Minato's unmoving body, and as Yu looked at his emotionless face, Minato blinked, spooking Yu slightly.

"Hmm?" Minato remarked. "Oh, it's you. What are you doing here?"

"I was just checking up on you," Yu replied, moving away from the door. "So, you were visiting the Velvet Room?" Despite the question's topical nature, Minato quieted down, as if Yu asked a stupid question.

"Look," Yu began, a little irritated, "I get that you don't like to talk much, but why?"

Minato turned back to face Yu. "You wouldn't understand," Minato replied sullenly.

"So what?" Yu asked. "I may not understand it, but I'd still want to know."

"Hmm… That's an unusual notion."

Yu was confused. "What do you mean 'unusual notion?'"

"It's just… when the others ask about me, I try to end the conversation by force. When that happens, they hush up. But you…? You still persist. Why?"

"Because… it's not like me to give up, despite how fruitless. It's my greatest strength and my greatest weakness."

Minato actually chuckled at this comment. "That's a good one."

"So… what's the reason you aren't much of a talker? Except for now, of course."

Minato closed his eyes and smiled softly. "I'm not sure I want to tell you now. But one day, maybe I'll tell you."

Yu arched his eyebrow. "But why not now?"

Minato shook his head. "I still don't think you'll understand."

"If you say so." After this, out of nowhere, the familiar crashing noise went off in Yu's head, followed by the Aeon tarot card appearing before his eyes.

 **Thou Art I… And I Am Thou… Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Aeon Arcana.**

After the card vanished and the blue veil entered his body, Yu suggested to Minato that it was time to turn in for the night, which Minato agreed to, leaving the duo to return to the dorm, a little more acquainted than their first proper meeting in the hospital.

* * *

April 20:

With the day's school session concluded and armed with the knowledge that he, along with the rest of the members of SEES, were needed at the dorm ASAP, Yu walked up to Yukari to see if she wanted to walk home with him; halfway expecting her to say no and ask Minato, she accepted, mostly because the aforementioned Minato had already left with Junpei, but Yu suspected that there was something more.

As they walked through the school gates, Yukari asked, "What's the occasion? Asking to walk back to the dorm with me, I mean."

As was one of his acquired trademarks, Yu shrugged. "I dunno. Guess I felt like it."

"Oh. I see. Well, don't take it the wrong way, because Arisato-san tends to be more..."

"...secluded," Yu finished. "I kinda figured that at this point."

"Already?! You've only really known him for like three days!"

Yu nodded. "I know. Guess he's just that easy to read. Just like you."

Immediately, Yukari blushed ever so softly. "W-What do you mean by that?"

"Just the way you're drawn to him. It almost looks like you're in… love."

"L-Love?!" Yukari, in addition to blushing profusely, was now beginning to lose her footing at this comment, and the face she gave Yu in response was the first legitimately fearful thing he'd seen from her. "N-Now listen here, don't you EVER make that assumption again or I swear you'll get a slap. Got it?!"

Yu could've continued on, but the thought that a slap might just be the beginning of his worries led Yu to simply nod. "S-Sorry," Yu stuttered fearfully. "Maybe I'm wrong, but..." After stopping and taking a few deep breaths, Yu's mind was finally at ease as he shook his head. "You know what, just forget what I said. I didn't mean any of that."

Yukari's blush then faded as she, too, calmed down after a few breaths. "No, I'm sorry. I don't usually lash out at people the way I did." She paused. "Well, except for maybe Junpei."

Yu snickered, then nodded. "I could see that."

She rebounded quickly. "But seriously, I don't like people jumping to conclusions based on coincidences."

Yu nodded. "I get that." He then sported a kind smile. "In fact, I think you would've gotten along well with someone at my old school who thought the same way."

"You know," Yukari began, "It's kinda strange how you compare me to people at your old school. It's almost as if you haven't let go of the past."

Yu's smile melted to a grimace. "It's kinda hard to forget about old friends. Besides, we went through a lot together." He looked to Yukari. "Have you had friends like that?"

Yukari went silent. "W-Well..."

"How about being friends with me, then?" Yu held out his hand, which after a few moments Yukari accepted.

"Sure." She replied cheerfully. "Although, I thought we already were."

Setting a personal record for himself, the crashing noise went off in his head for the fifth time in roughly 48 hours, and the Lovers tarot card slowly materialized before his eyes.

 **Thou Art I… And I Am Thou… Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Lovers Arcana.**

Again, the card vanished, and a blue veil covered him for a brief moment before vanishing. Then, it dawned on Yu that he and Yukari were drawing the attention of numerous onlookers, and who knows what kind of rumors they were coming up with.

"I think we should get going before they get any more funny ideas," Yu suggested. Yukari wasted no time nodding in confirmation and dragging Yu away to the monorail station in record time in order to escape from the onlookers.

* * *

 **Another chapter is done, and finally at a length I'm satisfied with. So as you saw, this chapter was filled with new social links that were being formed, and I hope that wasn't a disappointment. Anyways, I spent almost a week on this chapter, spending an hour per day on it since I tend to be a little scatterbrained, which might explain why I posted the last two chapters with fewer than usual words, as I was sorta rushing them out to keep up.**

 **Regardless, thanks for reading as usual, and thanks to Gilgamesh The King of Heroes, Sulphur99, Issac Komnenos, and Lovadren for leaving reviews.**

 **And until next time, read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	10. The Practice Run

As nighttime fell over the city, Yu and the other members of SEES were finally gathered in the control room for whatever Mitsuru and Ikutsuki needed them for, but Yu had a good idea what the meeting was for.

"Good, everyone's here," Ikutsuki said as Junpei and Minato sat down on the couch across from Yu. "I'd like your undivided attention." As Yu looked around at everyone, he noticed that Minato was doing the same thing before returning his gaze to Ikutsuki. "For the longest time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were our only Persona users. But, now we have six. Therefore..." Ikutsuki pushed his glasses back onto his eyes. "Starting at midnight, I'd like to commence the exploration of Tartarus."

Junpei immediately raised his hand. "Sorry. I asked this yesterday, but what is Tartarus again?"

Yukari stared at Junpei, as if he'd asked a stupid question. "You mean you haven't seen it, Junpei?" she asked, to which Junpei replied with a grimace.

"Is it that much of a surprise?" Yu asked. "It only shows up during the Dark Hour, right?"

Ikutsuki nodded. "Correct."

Minato looked to Ikutsuki with a confused look. "The Dark Hour?" Minato asked.

Akihiko then sported a smirk. "Just like the Shadows," Akihiko remarked. "Interesting, isn't it?"

"I... I guess?" Junpei replied.

"Also," Akihiko continued, "it's the perfect place for us to train. For now, just think of it as the Shadows' nest."

"Whoa," Junpei remarked, almost impressed. "Their nest, huh?"

"But wait," Yukari interjected. "What about your injury, senpai?"

Mitsuru then spoke up. "Since Akihiko isn't fully recovered, he'll only come as far as the entrance."

Akihiko frowned. "Yeah, I know."

"Well, as long as you all don't go too far ahead, I'm sure he won't complain that much," Ikutsuki suggested. "But since these are Shadows we're talking about, we can't just avoid Tartarus all together."

Junpei bolted out of his seat, a determined look on his face. "Relax," Junpei remarked. "I've got your backs!"

 _That not too encouraging,_ Yu thought to himself.

"I'm not too sure about this," Yukari remarked.

"And as for you, Mr. Chairman?" Mitsuru asked Ikutsuki.

"I'll stay here, of course," Ikutsuki replied, grimacing. "As you all know, I can't summon a Persona."

 _I think we all know that by heart,_ Yu thought.

* * *

"Are you gonna be alright while I'm in Tartarus fighting with the others?" Yu asked Akihiko in a hushed tone as the group drew nearer to the school.

"Either way," Akihiko started, also hushed, "I don't have much of a choice. Even if you stayed back to defend me, the others will need your help on the tougher enemies."

Yu nodded. "Well, that's understandable," he replied, then smirked. "Still though, aren't you afraid that the rest of us will pass you up in strength?"

"Oh, don't worry," Akihiko snapped back, also smirking. "When I'm ready to go, you'll wish you didn't say that."

Yu nodded. "You're on." After that, Akihiko moved up to the front with Mitsuru as the group stopped in front of the school gates which, on cue, led to Junpei looking confused.

"T-THIS is the place?" Junpei asked as he faced Akihiko, who'd pulled out his cell phone to check the time. "But why here?"

"Just wait a little while longer," Akihiko replied. "It's almost midnight." As Akihiko said this, Yu pulled out his own phone and checked the time himself; it flashed 11:59 PM, with 10 seconds left until the Dark Hour commenced. After those ten seconds were up, Yu's phone grew dark, and the tower of Tartarus erupted from the ground; Yu wasn't surprised by the sight anymore, but he did get some enjoyment from Minato and Junpei's reactions (especially Junpei's), as they stared in awe while the tower grew to its final, indeterminable height.

"This is Tartarus," Mitsuru said as the tower stopped growing, "the labyrinth that appears during the Dark Hour."

"Labyrinth?" Junpei asked before his expression grew serious. "What the hell are you talking about? What happened to our school?!"

"Relax, Iori," Mitsuru reassured. "Once the Dark Hour passes, everything will return to normal."

"So... this is the 'nest' you were talking about, Akihiko-senpai?" Junpei followed. Akihiko nodded, to which Junpei asked, "But why? Why'd our school turn into a giant tower?" Everyone stayed silent, Yu included, who didn't have the heart to tell Junpei they didn't have that answer yet.

"You don't know?" Junpei asked, concerned.

Mitsuru shook her head. "No," she replied.

"Whatever the answer," Yu followed, "I'm sure that it's something real complicated, right?"

Yukari nodded. "Y-Yeah," she replied. "What Narukami said." She then frowned slightly. "But who cares about that now? Would it really change our minds about fighting?"

Yu shook his head. "No way. The Shadows seem much scarier than the truth behind Tartarus anyways."

"Regardless," Akihiko continued, "maybe now we'll figure that truth out."

Yu nodded. "Well said," he replied.

"Regarding Tartarus," Akihiko continued, "only Mitsuru, Yu and I have had a peek inside. This'll be our first real time exploring it. Exciting, isn't it?"

"W-Wait," Junpei butted in, "You mean even Yu has seen the inside?"

Yu nodded. "With Akihiko, yes. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Oh no, not at all," Junpei replied unconvincingly. "It's just surprising is all."

"Regardless," Akihiko continued, "maybe there's some kind of clue as to the Dark Hour's origin that we'll get out of the deal as well."

Mitsuru faced Akihiko with a stern expression. "Akihiko," she began, "while I respect your enthusiasm, remember that you won't be accompanying us today."

Akihiko's expression darkened at this comment. "I know! There's no need to remind me." Just then, Yu and the others began to snicker.

"What's so funny?" Akihiko asked sternly.

"N-Nothing," Yu replied. "So, shall we go in?"

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes, let's," she replied as the group walked up to the front door of the tower; once inside, Yu was again unsurprised by their surroundings, but the looks of awe from the others made it worth it.

"Wow," Junpei said as he took in the view. "It's just as cool on the inside as it is on the outside."

"I know what you mean," Yu replied. Then, after a few more feet, the group came to a halt in front of the flight of stairs that reach to the labyrinth itself.

"It sure is creepy, though," Yukari replied.

"This is only the entrance," Mitsuru replied. "The labyrinth lies ahead beyond the doorway at the top."

"But first things first," Akihiko began, "you'll have to get a feel for the place before we do some serious exploring. How about having a look around inside?"

"By ourselves?" Yukari asked.

"We're not asking you to go in too far," Mitsuru replied. "Besides, I'll be feeding you information from here."

"So you weren't planning to go in tonight at all?" Junpei asked.

Akihiko nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "Also, we're going to appoint a leader to make necessary decisions."

"For reals?" Junpei asked before waving his arm in the air. "Oh! Oh! Me me me! Pick me, please!"

"..." Akihiko said nothing to Junpei as he looked to Yu and Minato, as if he was having trouble picking between the two.

"Arisato, you're in charge." This elicited shock from Minato and Junpei, while Yu nodded in confirmation; while he seemed to take the news well, Junpei immediately protested in anger.

"W-Wait," Junpei began. "Why him?! He doesn't look like a leader." He then pointed at Yu. "Hell, you could've picked me or Yu, but HIM?"

"Junpei," Yu began, "while I'm flattered, Arisato-san has also fought them before, just so you know."

Junpei looked to Yu in disbelief. "F-For real?"

"That's true," Akihiko replied, "and while Yu is also capable, there's another reason." Then, Akihiko pulled out his Evoker, then focused his attention on Yukari and Junpei. "Can you two summon your Personas without fault like they can?"

Junpei nodded confidently. "O-Of course I can!" he replied.

Yukari nodded. "I think so," she replied.

Akihiko's expression turned darker. "These are Shadows we're dealing with," he warned. "Without your Persona, you're screwed."

Again, Yukari nodded. "I think we all know that," she replied. As the group consisting of Yukari, Junpei, Minato and Yu reached the first step, Minato stopped in his tracks, looked towards empty space, and walked to the left hand side of the lobby-ish area. He then stood in place motionless, and although most of the group had no idea what to think if of it, only Yu knew what was going on; he was the only one, in fact, who could see the velvet blue door that Minato stood in front of.

"H-Hey, are you alright?" Yukari asked Minato, who, unsurprisingly to Yu, said and did nothing as he continued to stand in a statue-like stance. Now completely bamboozled, Yukari and Junpei approached the unmoving junior.

"Do you think he's alright?" Yukari asked.

"I dunno," Junpei replied with uncertainty.

"I'm sure he's fine," Yu replied confidently. "He's probably not completely used to the Dark Hour yet."

Junpei looked to Yu. "Seriously, why wasn't it at least YOU to be picked as leader?"

Yu looked to Akihiko. "Should I tell him?" Yu whispered. Akihiko nodded, then Yu turned back to Junpei.

"You see," Yu began, "I've actually been in the tower itself fighting before, so I have a little more experience."

Junpei looked at Yu wide eyed. "For real?" he asked. "Then why..."

"It was decided that since I have more experience that I serve as backup for the group. Maybe I'll volunteer sometime down the road, but I'm the best you'll get as far as experienced backup."

"O-Oh, I see now." Junpei nodded. "You know, I could just see you as the leaderly time."

Yu nodded. "Thank you, Junpei." As Yu finished this comment, so did Minato awaken from his trance.

As he looked around, Yu was the first to speak up. "Hey, you alright over there?"

Minato nodded. "Yeah," he replied in deadpan.

"You sure?" Junpei asked. "Because you look a little like a zombie."

Minato tilted his head. "A zombie?" he asked.

"Junpei!" Yukari shouted.

"What? I didn't mean to come off as insulting or anything. I-I just..."

"Don't you see the door?" Minato asked.

Yukari looked around. "Huh? What door?" she asked.

"Are you nuts?" Junpei asked. "I don't see no door." Minato looked to Yu, which he followed up with a simple shrug of the shoulders. "C'mon, man. You're supposed to be our leader. You need to get your head in the game!"

Minato shrugged. "I guess."

Junpei sighed. "Man, you're some piece of work."

"Well, if you're all quite done over there," Yu began, "then let's get going!"

"Right!" The other three replied at varying levels of enthusiasm before the four of them began climbing up the intimidating flight of stairs.

* * *

After rushing through the labyrinth's entrance, the group stopped to take in the scenery of the black and white floor tiles and the walls outfitted with "endless" lines of windows. In addition, everyone had their weapons of choice armed at the ready, from Yu's and Junpei's two-handed katanas, to Yukari's bow, to Minato's rapier.

"So this is it, huh?" Junpei asked.

"I hope we don't get lost," Yukari added.

Yu nodded. "I think that's something we all hope for," he replied.

 _"Can you all hear me?"_ Mitsuru's voice announced.

"What the…?" Junpei shouted in surprise. "Is that you, senpai?"

 _"Yes,"_ Mitsuru replied. _"I'll be providing audio backup from this point onwards."_

"Wait a sec… does that mean you can see inside here?"

 _"It's my Persona's ability. I'd like to join you, but Tartarus' structure changes from day to day, which makes outside support crucial."_

Yu nodded. "Makes sense," he replied.

 _"Anyways, based on your location, enemies could be encountered at any second, so be on your guard, regardless of how weak the enemy."_

"Got it!" everyone replied, but Yukari soon scoffed after that.

"Why is she always like that?" Yukari asked.

"Do you not like her?" Yu asked.

She stammered. "I-It's not like that, it's just..."

Junpei rolled his eyes. "She's always like that about Mitsuru-senpai. Always has SOMETHING that Yuka-tan doesn't like about her."

"Oh, really?" Yukari snapped back. "And how's your friendship with Minato going, Stupei?"

"H-Hey, I resent that," Junpei snapped. "And don't call me that!"

"Guys!" Yu shouted as he pointed up ahead to a Cowardly Maya. "It's a Shadow. What should we do, leader?"

"Attack it swiftly," Minato replied.

Yu looked to Junpei. "Want a shot at it, Junpei?" he asked. Junpei responded by running up to the wimpy Shadow and hack away at it with his sword until it bled away into nothing.

"Ha ha!" Junpei celebrated enthusiastically. "Score one for Junpei!"

"Congrats," Yu replied. "But just know that that's the weakest of the weak. Anyone could take them out."

"Yikes," Junpei replied dejectedly. "Right where it hurts."

"Hold up," Minato added. "More are coming." Sure enough, a pack of four Cowardly Mayas made their way to their position.

"Maybe we should use our Personas this time," Yu suggested, to which Minato nodded in confirmation. Then, all four of them pulled out their Evokers and called out the names of their Personas in unison.

"HERMES!" Junpei shouted.

"IO!" Yukari shouted.

"IZANAGI!" Yu shouted.

"ORPHEUS!" Minato shouted. Suddenly, four shimmering blue figures showed themselves as Personas, and it was also the first time Yu had seen Yukari's; her Persona was a black humanoid girl in a pink tattered dress with long blonde hair, as it prayed while chained down to a horned animal skull. As the four Shadows neared, each Persona belted out each of their unique elemental abilities, from fire to wind to electric, all of which connected and turned each of the Shadows into globs of nothingness.

 _"Impressive,"_ Mitsuru congratulated. _"Maybe things will go smoother than I thought."_

"You better believe it," Junpei gloated.

"No time to celebrate," Yu replied. "We've still got a ways to go before we're done."

 _"He's right,"_ Mitsuru agreed. _"There's still more Shadows to fight."_

"Well then, let's keep going!" Junpei replied.

"Right!" Yu replied as they bolted down the next hallway, but all that approached at the moment were more Cowardly Mayas, which were dispatched easily by sword swipes and arrows that pierced their being, and after about ten in total, things grew boring for the group, particularly with Junpei.

 _"Seems like you've taken all the Shadows out,"_ Mitsuru replied. _"But that's odd. There's usually more than that. Good work, everyone."_ She paused for a moment. _"There should be a teleporter close by, so split up to find it."_

"Understood," Minato replied. "Junpei, you're coming with me to the left hallway."

"Got it!" Junpei replied.

"So that leaves me and Narukami-san to check the right hallway?" Yukari asked.

Yu nodded. "That's how it seems," he added. "Let's go check it out, then." Yukari nodded as she and Yu began walking down the right hallway. As they walked, Yu thought about Mitsuru's comment about the lack of enemies; even in the TV world, there tended to be more enemies than this, weak or otherwise, so he knew there must've been something off.

"Something wrong?" Yukari asked Yu.

Yu shook his head. "It's just a funny feeling I'm having."

Yukari nodded. "I know how you feel. I mean, you've been in here before, but it's still a little creepy in here for me."

Yu shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Things just feel a little… quiet in here."

"Oh," she replied. "Yeah, that's weird too. Do you think we might be in trouble?"

"I want to say no, but..." Before Yu could finish, the floor began to shake, causing Yukari to lose her footing; in an instant, a giant white Shadow appeared before them, decked out with a set of six or eight legs and two large spikes where arms should be, topped off with a Chariot Arcana mask.

"W-What is that?" Yukari stuttered.

"What in the...?," Yu replied, overwhelmed by the Shadow's large size. "Mitsuru, can you see this?"

 _"Unfortunately,"_ she replied. _"Iori! Arisato! Retreat to the others' position!"_ As Yu and Yukari moved into battle positions, the Shadow threw out an attack: Mazio; although Yu came out of it relatively unharmed, Yukari was down on the ground, unable to even move.

"Takeba!" Yu shouted. "Are you alright?"

"I... I don't know!" She was momentarily paralyzed.

"Dammit." Yu turned to face the Shadow. "You'll pay for that." Yu brought his Evoker to his head and summoned back Izanagi, sending a Zio move back that didn't seem to affect the Shadow at all.

"Guys!" Junpei shouted to Yu and Yukari as Minato sent an Agi move to the Shadow, redirecting it's attention. "You alright?"

"Takeba is down," Yu replied. "Can you stay by her while I help out Arisato?"

"Uhh..."

"Great, thanks!" Yu thanked, tapping Junpei's shoulder as he hopped back into the battle, and from the looks of it, Minato was having about as much luck bringing the Shadow down as Yu was a moment earlier.

"Well, this escalated quickly, don't you think?" Yu asked Minato.

"Yeah, no kidding," Minato replied. "Just fight, and don't use your sword! It seems useless against it!"

"IZANAGI!" Yu shouted as he summoned his trusty Persona once more, and sent another Zio move aimed at the Shadow. Again, it wasn't enough, and the Shadow swung at Yu in retaliation; fortunately for Yu, he was slightly faster and avoided the Shadow's attack.

"Your go!" Yu shouted.

Minato nodded as he brought his Evoker to his head. "ORPHEUS!" Minato shouted as his blue colored, harp playing Persona appeared, and like Yu, Minato had his Persona repeat its Agi move, but the Shadow was still stood tall and unaffected.

"Hold up!" Yu shouted. "How about we double team? You know, attack at the same time." Once Minato realized what Yu has suggested, he nodded in approval, and the two readied their Evokers to fire.

"Now!" Yu shouted, after which Yu and Minato shot off their Evokers, releasing their respective Personas. As the Shadow drew closer, Izanagi sent out a Zio attack, while Orpheus sent out an Agi attack; despite the combined firepower, the Shadow continued to move, and although it made an effort to fight back, Yu and Minato did not relent in their efforts. For countless minutes, Yu and Minato would attack, then the Shadow would try, albeit infrequently successful, to counter back; finally, the door to victory cracked open, as when the Shadow fell to one knee, the two Wild Cards held nothing back. Fire, lightning. Fire, lightning. Fire, lightning. This continued on and on and on until, finally, the Shadow fell apart and vanished without a trace.

Yu gasped as he tried to catch his breath. "Whew!" he sighed. "That... That sure wasn't a normal one."

 _"A-Are you all alright?"_ Mitsuru asked.

"Just peachy," Yu replied sarcastically.

"I'm good," Junpei replied.

"I-I think so," Yukari stuttered.

 _"Thank goodness,"_ Mitsuru sighed. _"I was getting a little worried. Arisato, did you find the teleporter?"_

"Yes," Minato replied, panting at an infrequent rate. "We found it in the left hallway when you called."

 _"Then take it and head back,"_ Mitsuru suggested. _"I think you've gotten enough practice in."_

Yu nodded shakily. "No arguments from me."

* * *

lluminated in a pillar of bright green light, the four of them found themselves back at the entrance, some of them extremely relieved to be out of the hellish labyrinth. After the adrenaline rush finally wore off, the group moved back to Mitsuru's and Akihiko's position.

"Welcome back," Mitsuru greeted, somewhat relieved. "How was it?"

"Other than that beast of a Shadow," Junpei began, "it was awesome!"

"I wouldn't say awesome," Yukari replied.

"I have just one thing to say," Yu began, "and that's that I'm wiped."

Junpei nodded in agreement. "Yeah," he added, "I know. I feel beat too."

"Don't worry," Mitsuru reassured. "With time, you'll adapt to the Dark Hour's conditions." Then, Mitsuru's expression grew a little friendlier. "But still, I'm surprised. All of you did much better than I expected, especially Arisato and Narukami's ability to join forces on a dime."

"It was nothing," Minato replied in monotone.

"In fact," Mitsuru continued, "they might just catch up to you in no time, Akihiko."

Akihiko chuckled. "We'll see about that," Akihiko retorted. Suddenly, the crashing noise went off in Yu's head again, and he was informed that his bond with SEES had just ranked up.

 _Still gotta deal with that every time, huh?_ Yu thought.

"Can we just call it a night?" Yukari asked. "My night has gone bad enough."

"Yes," Mitsuru agreed. "Let's head back to the dorm."

"Right," Yu replied wearily. With their goal for the night completed and everyone out of gas, their large group of six left Tartarus and began the long walk back. The walk itself was slow and mercifully boring, but Yu noticed something, or someone, while walking along that piqued his interest. While on the Moonlight Bridge, Yu stopped and walked over to the edge to try to get a better look at what he'd spotted; however, all he could vaguely see was a lime-ish green dot in the distance for a second before disappearing in the eternal darkness.

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Done! And with that, it's officially been two months since I released the first chapter, and I thought it was appropriate since, well, this is the 10** **th** **chapter. Anyways, I wonder if anyone will get the small hint of fore"shadow"ing I placed in the chapter. In any case, I hope you all thought this chapter was good, because this one took a bit for me to write; and yes, I know this story doesn't progress as fast as a lot of other fanfics, but I don't feel this should be rushed. Yet.**

 **Anyways, time for the thank yous. Thanks to Gilgamesh The King of Heroes, Sulphur99, SeventhAssasin, Lovadren, and TimoteTh3God for leaving reviews, and as always, don't be afraid to leave a review if you haven't already.**

 **Read on!**

 **-rjm324**

 **EDIT: I just pointed out that shadow pun on this day, October 15. I didn't even realize I made it.**


	11. Secrets and Truths Revealed

April 21:

As Yu woke up the next day, he couldn't help but make a mental note about his current state, considering the adrenaline-pumping practice run he and the others had in Tartarus the night before; he was exhausted, sure, but since he was already scampering around in Tartarus for nearly a week, he wasn't nearly as tired as, say, the days after he saved Akihiko from the Magician Shadow's clutches. Anyways, just as Yu put on his Gekkoukan jacket, he heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Yu asked politely.

"It's Junpei," Junpei replied. "Hey listen, do you wanna walk to school today?"

"Did Arisato-san refuse your offer?" Yu asked back.

"Actually, he was long gone by the time I knocked on his door."

"And you don't want to go on your own today?"

"Y-Yeah, that's right."

Yu thought about this for a few moments. "Sure," he replied. "I'm ready to go anyways." While he said this, Yu made his way to his room's door in record time, opened it, and was greeted by Junpei, toothy grin and all.

"Thanks man!" Junpei thanked.

"Let's go then." As Junpei began walking, Yu following close behind him, Yu couldn't help but stare at Junpei's backpack; it wasn't anything special, but it did have an unusual, eye-popping color: purple. Yu didn't have anything against the color, but it seemed a little out of place; or at least, it would be if he were talking about anyone else but Junpei. In the time Yu contemplated this small, innocuous detail, he and Junpei were already down to the ground floor, and in even less time, they were out the front door, heading to the monorail station like a clockwork task.

"So what did you think of Tartarus?" Yu asked as they walked.

"Didn't I already answer that question to Mitsuru-senpai last night?" Junpei asked.

"You did," Yu replied, "but I'm asking you now, after you've had some time to soak it all in."

Junpei shrugged. "It's… interesting, to say the least. And kicking the Shadows' asses was a lot of fun."

Yu chuckled. "That it is."

Junpei frowned. "But man, that big one we fought at the end was really tough. I almost thought we were gonna die."

Yu nodded. "And that's what makes Tartarus such an unpredictable place."

"I'll say." Junpei paused. "Still, I can't believe you and Arisato managed to take that thing out like that. It's like the two of you were fighting them for years."

Yu shrugged. "Maybe we're just naturals." Junpei then hushed up until they made it to the station and boarded the monorail, but even then, neither of them spoke until the monorail began moving.

"So what's with the purple backpack?" Yu asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" Junpei asked before looking to his backpack. "I-It's just a backpack."

"But the color," Yu continued. "It just seems off to me."

"Says the one with a gray backpack."

Yu looked to his own backpack before returning his gaze to Junpei, nodding. "Touché."

"Anyways, why'd you ask about it?"

Yu shrugged his shoulders. "No reason. It just kinda… stands out."

"Well, maybe I want to stand out. Ever think of that?"

Yu shook his head "No. No I didn't."

"Well, does it make sense that way?"

This time, Yu nodded with a light smile. "Yeah, it does."

Junpei scratched his head. "Do you have to answer like a robot?"

"And I guess calling Arisato-san a zombie is better?"

"Whoa, you got me there." This time, Junpei was the one to lightly smile. "I guess it doesn't matter anyways. In fact, the way you act can be pretty funny." Junpei realized what he said and rebounded. "I-In a good way, of course."

Yu nodded. "Thanks, I guess."

"I mean, compared to Arisato, you're like a normal, everyday person."

"That's still seems like an insult, don't you think?"

Junpei chuckled lightly. "You really are something, you know?"

Yu nodded. "And I wouldn't change for anyone."

"Then don't give me crap about the way I act. Deal?" Junpei then extended his hand, of which Yu accepted swiftly.

"Deal." Suddenly, the crashing noise went off in his head, and a familiar voice informed him his bond with Junpei ranked up. After this, Yu looked out the window to see that the school was coming into view once again.

"Oh, did you hear?" Junpei asked.

"What?" Yu asked back.

"Apparently, there's an assembly being held today."

Yu arched his eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. It's gonna be a drag."

Yu shrugged. "It could be worse."

Again, Junpei scratched his head. "Yep, you're a pretty unique dude alright."

* * *

"That concludes the main portion of today's assembly," a somewhat cheerful student announced to the auditorium full of bored high school students. He hated to admit it, but Yu was only halfway listening, thanks in part to his mental exhaustion; in Yu's defense, it looked like Junpei, who was sitting directly in front of him, and Minato, who was sitting to the left of Junpei, didn't give the impression they were paying close attention either.

"Next," the student continued, "we'll hear a word from the Student Council." As Yu's attention waned, took a closer look at the stage and saw that Mitsuru was standing quite a few paces to the left (his left) to the podium.

 _If Mitsuru is up there, then she must be part of the Student Council,_ Yu thought. _Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if she was the President._

"So without further ado," the same student continued, "please welcome the new Council President, Mitsuru Kirijo of Class 3-D."

Yu put his hand to his face in shock. _Damn, I was spot on,_ Yu swore to himself. In hindsight, he did see it coming, and the fact that Yukari, who was sitting to his left, seemed unsurprised too was also unsurprising.

"So she did get elected," Yukari replied, with a similar hint of hostility that Yu picked up on in Tartarus. "Well, I guess she IS the most popular girl in school." Despite that, Yu couldn't really argue with her there.

"No kidding," Yu added. "There's just something about her..."

"Besides," Junpei butted in, "the school's owned by the Kirijo Group, isn't it?"

Yu nodded. "That's what I heard."

"I try not to think about that," Yukari replied sullenly. Then, the lot of them refocused on the assembly, as Mitsuru looked as if she was about to start speaking.

"As I begin my term as Student Council President," Mitsuru began, "I'd like to share with you all my vision for the coming year. It is my firm belief that each one of us accepts the responsibility of bettering our school. However, change cannot occur without sustained effort and an unprecedented level of commitment." As she spoke, Yu looked around at the people he sat around, wondering how much of this speech was sticking to them, because he knew Junpei probably didn't understand a single thing that Mitsuru was saying.

The speech continued. "That is why we must restructure our daily lives to accommodate this lofty goal. I'd like each of you to dig deeply into your well of motivation, and reevaluate your convictions, to imagine a bold new future without losing sight of the realities around you. THAT is the key. I'm certain that many of you have your own visions of the future; for us to reap the full benefits of our education, your participation, ideas, and enthusiasm are essential. Thank you." As she stepped away from the podium, the entire auditorium erupted into applause, even if the student body didn't fully understand Mitsuru's speech.

"Dang," Junpei replied in awe. "That was freaking amazing. But, did any of y'all understand what she said?"

"Sort of," Minato replied.

Yu nodded somewhat confidently. "I think I've got the gist of it," he replied.

"I mean, it doesn't sound like something a high schooler would say." Junpei then turned his gaze from Minato to Yu. "Plus admit it: if it were anyone else, we'd be laughing our asses off."

"For some, this is true," Yu replied nonchalantly.

"So how much longer until this assembly ends?" Minato asked.

* * *

After the assembly concluded, classes resumed as normal, with Yu's next class being composition.

"Today," Ms. Toriumi began, "we'll be going over Meiji-era literature. Please open your textbooks to page 12." As Yu opened his textbook, Ms. Toriumi spoke up again. "You know what? I'm sick of the textbooks. I've got a great poem we can cover instead. Just close your textbooks and listen..." As Ms. Toriumi went recited the poem, Yu was tempted by the graceful escape of sleep, but fearing the worst, he forced himself to stay awake for the remainder of the class period; some did take the bait, however, since not too long after she finished up the poem, Ms. Toriumi unsurprisingly caught one of them.

"All right, Kenji," she began, "You'd better not be sleeping back there! You should be ashamed of yourself by taking a nap while I pour my heart into reading this poem!"

 _Sucks to be that kid,_ Yu thought.

"Just for that, you get another essay on top of your regular assignment TONIGHT! And I'll expect a slice of cake with it, too. And don't cheap out on the store bought stuff from last time either."

Yu winced. _It REALLY sucks to be that kid,_ he thought, a tad more apologetic.

* * *

Once class ended, Yu left his classroom and went straight to the right hand staircase, with which he planned to head down to the floor one hallway and off of school grounds. However, once he made it to the ground floor, he noticed something going on just outside the door that led to the gymnasium; curious, Yu opened the door, entered the outside corridor, and was shocked to see a familiar blue haired girl, her belongings scattered on the ground, being seemingly tormented by three other girls.

"Moriyama-san, please stop," Fuuka pleaded.

"Why?" one of the girls asked. "We were just inspecting your things for you."

"That's goody two shoes Fuuka for you," another girl added. "There's no fun stuff on her at all." As the third girl prepared to open her mouth, Yu approached the group, a serious look etched on his face.

"Um, just who the hell are you?" the third girl instead asked.

"It doesn't matter," Yu replied coldly. "Is there a problem here?"

"Um, no," the first girl replied. "Why don't you just stay out of other peoples' business?"

"Really?" Yu moved even closer to the girls. "'Cause from my perspective, it looked like you were bullying that poor girl. Am I wrong?" The least that Yu was expecting was some flinching, but surprisingly, the girls turned around and proceeded to leave.

"Ugh, forget THIS loser," the first girl snorted. "We'll just deal with Fuuka later."

"Yeah, see you never, Mr. Tough Guy," the second girl rudely said to Yu. Once the girls were out of sight, Yu knelt down to help pick up Fuuka's things.

"T-Thanks for your help," Fuuka thanked, "but you didn't need to do that."

"Sorry," Yu began, warmer than he was a minute ago, "but it's just not my style to let someone get harassed like that."

"I-I see," she replied before facing Yu, her eyes widening as she realized who'd come to her rescue. "Hey wait, you're the one from before. A-At the bookstore."

Yu nodded while smiling. "So you remember me?"

Fuuka nodded softly. "Yeah. O-Oh, I never caught your name."

As Yu handed Fuuka the last of her things, he stood up and bowed solemnly. "Yu Narukami, at your service."

Instead of a repeat of what happened last time, Fuuka instead laughed softly.

"Uhh, what's so funny?" Yu asked.

"T-That was just a pretty cheesy way of introducing yourself," Fuuka replied. "That's all."

Yu rubbed the back of his head. "I was just trying to be friendly."

"Well, you sure made me feel better, so thanks for that."

Yu nodded. "No problem, Fuuka. And if you ever need a helping hand, just ask."

"I-I'll think about it. Thanks for the offer." Suddenly, when Yu wasn't expecting it, the crashing noise went off in his head as the Priestess tarot card appeared before him.

 **Thou Art I… And I Am Thou… Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Priestess Arcana.**

"Well," Yu began as the flow of time continued, "I've gonna get going. See you later, Fuuka."

"Y-Yeah, see you," Fuuka replied. Satisfied, Yu turned around, exited back through the same door he came from, and began to walk down the first floor hallway, which in turn led Yu back to the main lobby; once there, Yu exited the school and headed to the Paulownia Mall, where he would return to the Velvet Room once more with a few more questions he hoped to get answered.

* * *

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor greeted.

"Thank you, Igor," Yu replied. "I have a question regarding the Compendium."

Margaret looked up. "What is it?"

"Do I still have access to my previous Personas?"

"Let's find out," Margaret replied as she pulled out a rather large brown book, with the words "Le Grimoire du Coeur" written on the cover, and when she opened it, her expression, regardless of the discovery, told Yu that something had to be wrong.

"What is it?" Yu asked.

Margaret looked up from the Compendium, her composure regained. "I'm not quite sure how to say this," Margaret began, "so I'll just be blunt: your Compendium is… empty."

Yu's eyes grew wide in disbelief. "A-Are you serious?" he asked.

"I'm afraid so," Margaret replied sadly. "As to why this is, I do not know. But, like your social links, you'll have to build up your Compendium from scratch."

"I was afraid that might've happened," Yu murmured silently, then turned back to Igor. "At least tell me what my power level is. It can't be too low, can it?"

"It is true that pertinent to your current situation," Igor began, "you are no longer as powerful as you once were in your true time. But rest assured, your current level of power should be acceptable for the time being."

"So what is it?" Yu asked again, anxious for a reply.

"Currently," Igor continued, "your power level stands at six."

"Six, huh? That's not bad, I guess."

Igor nodded. "Indeed."

"But that means I can't really fuse anything now, and that was the whole point in me coming down here."

"I know it must be tough," Igor continued, "but do not worry. As long as you continue to carry on in this time as you did in your own time, I'm confident you'll be caught up in no time."

Yu smiled warmly. "You know, that's actually strangely comforting, Igor."

"It is my pleasure."

Yu turned around to face the exit. "And on that note, I'll be going now."

Igor nodded. "Until next time, farewell."

* * *

"How was your visit?" the familiar voice of Minato asked as Yu slipped back into reality; Yu turned a full 360, revealing the familiar, bored face of his fellow Wild Card member.

"It was alright," Yu stammered. "Why do you ask, Arisato-san?"

Minato shrugged. "No reason," he replied. "Actually, I was waiting here for you."

Yu arched his eyebrow. "You need to talk to me?"

Minato nodded slently.

"Alright. What is it?"

Minato stayed silent for a moment, but Yu knew from past experiences that it didn't necessarily mean he was coming up with a question; in fact, he'd come to learn that even the slightest change in his facial expression could tell a much different story.

Finally, Minato spoke up. "Who are you? Really?"

"I'm Yu Narukami," Yu replied. "I'm the same guy you fought with in Tartarus last night." He tilted his head. "Why? Did you see someone that looked similar to me?"

Minato shook his head lightly. "Then where did you come from?"

Yu now felt like he was being interrogated. "Tokyo," Yu replied. "And before you ask another, where are these questions coming from?"

"Well," Minato began, "when I first encountered the Velvet Room, the long nosed fella, Igor, was telling me my future, using tarot cards to do so. I won't divulge the results, but the last time I went to the Room, while we were at Tartarus, something strange happened."

 _Is this going where I think it's going?_ Yu thought. "And what's that?"

"Well, I got curious about how you could see the Velvet Room door as well. When I entered, I asked Igor about it, and while I didn't get a straight answer, he did look at my fortune again as I requested."

"..."

"And what we saw was something that didn't happen the first time: two of the cards indicated the Fool, and since only a resident of the Velvet Room could possibly know about it's existence, that means one thing."

"And you're correct: I only recently entered the picture, but how I did might seem a little… far fetched."

"I'm listening."

Yu cleared his throat. "You see, I'm not even from this time at all. I'm actually from 2012, from the sleepy town of Inaba where a serial murder case will take place; while there, me and my friends, a band of Persona users, were battling a maniacal goddess named Izanami, and when she pretty much killed my friends, she offered for me to come back to this time in order to stop some sort of end of the world scenario." Yu huffed, unsure of what sort of time paradoxes he'd just opened up; regardless, he faced Minato once more. "And that's pretty much the short version."

It seemed like the unbearable silence was never-ending, until Minato cleared his throat and proceeded to speak. "Alright."

"What? That's it? Just an 'alright?'"

Minato shrugged. "Sure sounds like something Igor would want to hide."

Yu nodded. "Yeah, I'll give you that. He's good at staying hush hush."

"Regardless, I'm glad you told me now."

Yu stayed silent for a moment, then continued. "So, do you think we've just destroyed the time line?"

Again, Minato shrugged. "I doubt it. I mean, if you've been here since the 9th and nothing has happened, I think we'll be good for now."

"Just don't tell anyone about this," Yu warned. "I almost tripped up last week with my facts, like how right now, my parents are technically dead."

"You said they were alive?" Minato asked in amazement.

"Hey, in my defense, they were alive in my own time!" After this comment, Yu swore he heard Minato actually chuckle. "Man, how can you be so laid back?"

Minato's expression grew darker. "I dunno. And if we're still being honest, my parents are actually dead, but I doubt that excuses my behavior."

Rather than say he knew, Yu nodded apologetically. "I see. You must have been a lonely person, then."

Yu nodded. "And growing up with actual family might explain your outgoing, friendly nature."

"Don't forget friendships," Yu interrupted. "Plus, I think you could become a little more like me if you tried."

"How so?"

Yu shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we're friends, aren't we? Try hanging out with me sometimes."

"It can't be that simple, can it?"

"You'd be surprised." Yu held out his hand. "At least try, alright?" Yu stood there like a statue, expecting Minato to decline; however, Yu was a bit surprised to see Minato accepting and shaking his hand.

"I'd like that. And please, call me Minato from here on out."

Yu smiled. "As you wish, Minato." Again, a crashing noise went off in Yu's head, and the familiar voice informed him his bond with Minato has ranked up. After time resumed, the two released their hands.

"But seriously," Yu reiterated, "let's keep this little detail between us. There's no telling what might actually happen to the time line if someone else knew."

"Sure thing," Minato promised. "But something's not right: if you telling me hasn't messed anything up, the real question is why?"

Yu scratched his head. "That's a good point, but I'm not too sure about that."

"Well, let's not worry about it right now. We're still here, so that's all that matters right now."

"I guess you have a point." Just then, Yu yawned. "But man, I'm still beat from last night."

"Then I guess it's time to head back to the dorm, don't you think?" Minato suggested.

Yu nodded. "Yeah. Besides, Akihiko told me once before doing a lot while tired can make you sick."

"Isn't that just common sense?"

Yu smiled. "And I thought you didn't have a sense of humor."

Minato shrugged. "I guess not everything is what it seems."

* * *

After returning to the dorm, Yu's first instinct was to head straight to his room and collapse on the bed; but despite this resolve, he nevertheless woke up right as the Dark Hour commenced, when the rest of the group were likely to be headed to Tartarus. Regardless of this fact, Yu got up, dressed in his school uniform, exited his room, and walked down the stairs to the ground floor; although he expected Akihiko to be sitting around at the lounge, there was, again, no one there.

 _Great, so now what?_ Yu thought. _I could catch up with the others, but I'm still a little tired. I could go back to sleep, but I'm wide awake now._ He entertained both ideas, but decided to take a leisurely stroll around the area to clear his mind; Yu then walked out the front door and decided to walk in the direction of the Moonlight Bridge. As he walked, he still couldn't help but marvel at the number of coffins that littered the streets, if only slightly by this point.

As Yu neared the Bridge, his thoughts drifted to that of his friends back in Inaba; more specifically, he thought about what they'd be doing right now. Was Yosuke hanging out with friends in the city? Was Kanji knitting away, not giving a damn about what others think? Were Chie and Yukiko having fun in their middle school years? Heck, did Teddie even exist yet? He especially thought about his cheerful and precious Yukiko; was she turning down the umpteenth fool's offer for a date like she always did before meeting him?

However, Yu's reminiscing was swiftly cut short as, in the corner of his eye, he spotted the familiar green dot from the night before, and this time he was able to determine where it was at: Port Island Station. He then took off like a rocket to cross its path, but as he got closer to the station, he realized that he was slightly more out of shape than he remembered, and he had no one to blame but himself; in fact, by the time he crossed over to what was technically Tatsumi Port Island, Yu decided to stop running and just speed walked the rest of the way there.

Finally, after an additional fifteen minutes of monotonous walking, Yu was standing in front of the station, and he spared no expense in attempting to locate whatever, or whoever, this green speck was. Another 15 minutes passed by, and as he was about to give up his search, he heard footsteps approaching while standing in between two shady locations' entrances, leaving Yu to scamper around for a hiding place. Since this particular section of the station had no real places to hide, Yu dashed out to the front of the station and decided to take cover behind the large stone staircase near the movie theater.

As he stood there, unbeknownst as to whether or not he would be spotted, Yu decided to sparsely peek around the corner to see who might be passing by; the first four peeks turned up nothing, but the fifth time did, as he caught a small glimpse of three figures: a white colored one, a familiar, green colored one, and a pale skinned one. After catching this, Yu returned to his original position, short of breath, hoping that the three figures didn't spot him, while each passing second, to him, felt like an hour. At one point, Yu's heart almost skipped a beat when the footsteps stopped abruptly, which was followed by a jumble of words being exhanged by the three; fortunately for Yu, the footsteps continued before too long and slowly faded away, which Yu took as a sign that he was safe.

 _Dunno if I should've hid,_ Yu thought as he stretched his limbs, _but I'm not taking any chances._ With that minor disaster averted, Yu wiped sweat off his forehead, decided to call it a night, and headed back to the dorm in silence.

* * *

April 22:

The next day went by as usual, with him learning the set curriculum for the day before leaving the school grounds almost immediately after classes were dismissed; he didn't have anything in particular planned, but he did go poking around at various stores for any helpful items at the Mall before returning to the dorm and, inevitably, retreating to his room.

Hours passed silently in Yu's head, and the next thing he knew, there was a knock at his room's door.

"Who is it?" Yu called out.

"It's me," Minato replied. "You coming along to Tartarus?"

Yu replied by walking to the door and swinging it open, coming face to face with the stone faced leader. "Yeah. I'm feeling much better tonight."

"Then let's go," Minato replied, which was followed up by the two youths walking down to the ground floor, and then out the front door.

"So what all happened in Tartarus last night?" Yu asked as they walked in the direction of the school.

"We cleared the first three floors," Minato began, "and we all leveled up pretty decently."

"Why only three floors?" Yu asked curiously.

"We were warned by Mitsuru-senpai that there was a trio of tough enemies waiting for us on floor five."

"I thought you said you cleared three floors."

"Yeah, well, the lobby counts as a floor."

Yu scratched the side of his head. "Oh, right."

"Anyways, since Junpei and Yukari weren't willing to face it last night, we stopped."

"Was it because I wasn't there?"

Minato frowned. "Something like that."

"Were you not ready either?" This time, Minato went eerily silent, a first since a few days ago.

"I guess I'll leave it at that." For the rest of the walk, neither of them said anything, and as they approached the school gates, Yu waved at his other teammates, specifically Junpei, who was waving back.

"'Sup, man?" Junpei asked Yu.

Yu shrugged. "The usual, I guess."

"Feeling better?" Yukari asked.

Yu nodded. "Very much so. I feel like I could take on anything today."

"Sweetness!" Junpei exclaimed. "Guess tonight's gonna be fun!"

"We'll see," Yu replied as the clock struck midnight, and the tower unceremoniously rose up to reveal itself. Once inside, Yu engaged in some small talk as Minato made a visit to the Velvet Room; once Minato was done, the four of them gathered at the teleporter which, in an instant, sent them directly to the fifth floor.

 _"Remember,"_ Mitsuru began, _"there are three powerful enemies in the center. Be on your guard!"_

"Understood!" Yu and Minato replied in unison as the group moved down the long, foreboding hallway to the right of the teleporter; not even a few steps into the hall, and the group could see what they were up against: three giant eagles, all sporting the Empress Arcana mask.

 _"These enemies are of the Empress Arcana,"_ Mitsuru pointed out. _"Good luck."_

"Alright then," Yu replied back before looking to Minato. "Which attacks should we try?"

"Probably not wind skills," Minato replied nonchalantly.

Yu nodded. "Agreed. Why not take the first hit yourself?"

Minato nodded in agreement as he pulled out his Evoker. "ORPHEUS!" he shouted as he pulled the trigger, and Orpheus appeared promptly afterwards. "AGI!" Orpheus obliged by swinging its arm at its harp, but the fire that engulfed one of the eagles did nothing; in fact, the fire was seemingly absorbed by the enemies.

"Looks like fire doesn't work either," Minato replied to Yu.

"I see that," Yu replied as he pulled his Evoker out. "Well, here goes nothing. IZANAGI!" Yu pulled the trigger, and the sleek and cool Izanagi appeared. "ZIO!" Izanagi then released a bolt of lightning onto one of the eagles; it connected, but the attack just wasn't enough.

"Damn," Yu swore as he turned back to Minato. "Alright, I think Junpei and Yukari should try using their weapons." Minato nodded in approval, and Yu turned to the others in question. "Yukari! Junpei! Attack with your weapons!"

"Right!" Junpei replied.

"Got it!" Yukari replied. Junpei then attacked the eagle that Yu struck with his sword, but, like before, the attack didn't bring it down; however, when Yukari shot an arrow at one of the other eagles, it actually brought the enemy down to the ground.

"Alright, Yuka-tan!" Junpei congratulated.

"Keep shooting, Yukari!" Yu encouraged; Yukari responded by shooting an arrow each at the other two eagles, leaving all three eagles on the ground.

"Minato!" Yu shouted. "What do you say we hit 'em all at once?"

Minato nodded, and the entire group gathered to attack all three at once, or an all-out attack as Yu remembered it. After all their crazy slashing and piercing attacks were concluded, only two of them were left standing, as the one Yu and Junpei had attacked earlier faded to nothing during the all out attack.

"One down," Minato noted. Then, both eagles used a garu move, one that hit and knocked down Yu, while the other did very minor damage to Yukari.

"You alright?" Minato asked.

"I'm fine," Yu replied as he slowly got back on his feet. "Me and wind just don't go well together."

"Alright, then it's my move." As Minato put the Evoker back to his head, he shouted, "CHANGE! APSARAS!" He then pulled the trigger, and an entirely new Persona appeared before the group; it appeared as a blue skinned humanoid with violet hair, wearing a white unitard and a blue "belt" of sorts.

"BUFU!" Minato shouted, and Apsaras sent out an ice skill that, while it connected, still wasn't enough to bring the eagle down.

"My move," Yu followed up. "IZANAGI! ZIO!" The attack connected with the second eagle, and it, too, was still standing.

"Check this out, Yu," Junpei encouraged as he summoned his Persona. "HERMES! USE CLEAVE!" As Hermes appeared, it took a mighty swipe at the first eagle, which finally resulted in its defeat.

"Not bad," Yu congratulated.

"Guess that leaves me," Yukari added as she brought her bow into an attacking position, releasing another arrow that connected and brought it back down to the ground.

"Let's get em, partner," Junpei suggested to Minato, which Minato shook his head to.

"Let's just let Yukari take it out," Minato replied.

Although disappointed, Junpei nodded. "Alright." As he said this, one more arrow from Yukari finally forced the final eagle to dissolve. The room remained silent, then the group cheered, congratulating themselves with their success.

" _Great job!"_ Mitsuru congratulated. _"You all performed beautifully. You can go ahead and continue or head back."_

"I say we return," Yu suggested. "We shouldn't take any unnecessary risks."

"Yeah, I agree," Yukari added. "We should rest up for what's coming next."

Minato nodded softly. "Alright, let's head back."

* * *

 **Whew, was that a doosey of a chapter to write. If I wanted to, I would've cut this chapter into two, but I didn't want to upload any more 2,000-2,500 word chapters, so here's this extended, 5,000-plus word chapter, and I even squeezed in another battle sequence. Don't worry, though, because from this point onwards, I'll try to keep things more balanced, but I can't promise anything regarding social links. Speaking of, I'm currently having trouble coming up with social link characters for the Hanged Man, Death, Devil, Tower, Star, and Sun Arcanas, since I don't want to duplicate too many of P3's original social links, so if any of you have suggestions, I'd like it if you PMing me them.**

 **Also, just so you're aware of Yu's current links so far, here's a list with respective ranks:**

 **Fool (SEES) – Rank 2**

 **Magician (Junpei) – Rank 2**

 **Priestess (Fuuka) – Rank 1**

 **Empress (Mitsuru) – Rank 1**

 **Emperor (Akihiko) – Rank 1**

 **Lovers (Yukari) – Rank 1**

 **Aeon (Minato) – Rank 2**

 **And any other Arcanas not previously mentioned will be coming up later, so don't worry about them.**

 **This time, I'll be doing something different regarding reviews. I'm gonna be replying to them, even if they don't have questions. So without further ado:**

 **Gilgamesh The King of Heroes – I would hope that what Yu saw will be interesting. The answer might just surprise you.**

 **SeventhAssasin – If this chapter didn't say it, then I will: Minato will be a little more open to Yu with time. Oh, and now Minato knows Yu's secret through his own observations, so there you have it!**

 **Sulphur99 – Glad you enjoyed the action. Interestingly enough, I don't like/have trouble with writing action scenes, and I may or may not use way too much dialogue as a side effect. And don't worry about the foreshadowing, for I hope this chapters' is easier to see.**

 **Lovadren – Thanks as usual with your kind reviews! Like with Gilgamesh, you'll find out the truth about the green speck pretty soon if not already.**

 **And now with ALL that typed out, I'm taking a well deserved break, and until next time, read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	12. The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

April 23:

Yu thought the next night would be a cinch, but that was until they ran into an enemy no one wanted to come face to face with: the Reaper.

 _"Retreat at once!"_ Mitsuru announced. _"You won't be able to win!"_

"U-Understood," Yu replied as he, Minato and the rest turned around to return to the teleporter they passed on the way down the hallway they traveled down; however, no matter how much they ran, the Reaper was still right on their heels, and as Yu ran, he felt a bullet hit his back, bringing him down to the ground in an almost paralyzed state. As he laid there, unable to move, Yu saw his teammates being knocked down one by one, but unlike him, they were being knocked unconscious, something that horrified Yu with each downed member.

The last one to go was Minato himself, who continued to sport his nonchalant expression till the very end. It was at the point where Minato landed face first on the ground that Yu was able to stagger back to his feet, but there was no point in running now; with no Revival Beads remaining or in sight and the Reaper being pretty much an unbeatable enemy, Yu just stood in front of it, with no intentions of resisting, and allowed the Reaper to shoot him in the head.

* * *

Yu bolted up from his bed, drenched in sweat, and realized that it was another nightmare, except somehow, this one was't quite as disturbing as the previous one he'd had. In his mind, Yu knew that no matter what, he would get through this and return home; if that was the case, then why were his dreams telling him he would somehow fail in his quest? Deep down, was there a lingering feeling in the back of his head, telling him that he would ultimately fail? He didn't know it, but at that moment, the one thing he was sure he wanted to do was just walk it off, which he did by climbing back up to the control room, and in return, he was greeted by the sight of Mitsuru, who was observing the monitors as diligently as she normally did on days where they didn't explore Tartarus.

Mitsuru turned her gaze to Yu for a brief moment before returning back to the monotonous task of observing the monitors. "Had a bad dream again, Narukami-kun?" she asked.

Yu nodded softly. "Unfortunately." He chuckled. "It's funny, because I never seemed to have dreams of this kind back in the city."

Mitsuru shrugged. "Maybe it's the Dark Hour."

"Maybe. After all, I can never seem to get back to sleep during the Dark Hour." As he said this, Yu pulled up a spare chair next to Mitsuru to observe the monitors with her; although Yu expected a little bit more of a conversation between him and Mitsuru, the two of them just sat there in silence for the longest time as Mitsuru remained focused on the monitors.

Finally, Yu spoke up. "So… how long have you and Akihiko been fighting the Shadows?"

Mitsuru hesitated for a minute or so before replying. "We've been fighting them for a few years now. In fact, Akihiko and I were some of the first Persona users around when SEES was founded."

"Some of the first ones? Does that mean there were more Persona users?"

"Well, there was another one. But..." Mitsuru's voice trailed off quickly, almost as if it were a topic she'd rather not discuss.

"But what?" Yu asked. "Did something happen to them?"

"He just… grew distant. After a while, he just left. Simple as that."

Yu nodded. "Oh, alright... I guess that makes sense." Yu could tell that it was a sensitive subject, so he dropped it entirely. "So can your Persona hold up in a fight?"

Mitsuru nodded. "Yes, but because Tartarus' floor structure changes every day, I can't exactly leave the rest of you in the dark, so I serve as backup."

 _And if there's anything I've learned,_ Yu thought, _it's that she won't be support for that much longer. Hopefully._

"I see," Yu replied. "I guess I'll leave it at that then."

"Thanks," Mitsuru thanked. Once again, the conversation grew stiff, as neither of them had anything to say while Mitsuru continued to focus entirely on the monitors.

"Well, on a similar note, what abilities does your Persona have?"

"Besides support abilities, my Persona uses ice attacks."

Yu nodded. "Alright. I was just curious."

"You seem curious about a lot of things," Mitsuru noted.

"I am," Yu confirmed. "It's just in my nature, like Akihiko with his excessive training."

Mitsuru chuckled. "Yes, that is his specialty." Then, Mitsuru took her attention away from the monitors and faced Yu. "Regardless, I'm still astonished by you and Arisato's ability to work together so naturally."

Yu shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Maybe so, but it's that kind of team dynamic that will really speed things along. At this rate, we may even figure out the reason behind Tartarus and the Dark Hour before Summer ends."

Yu rubbed the back of his head. "I don't think I deserve that much praise, but thanks."

Once more, the crashing noise went off in Yu's head, which, of course, indicated that his social link with Mitsuru had ranked up. Then, after the regular flow of time continued, the Dark Hour ended, resulting in Yu feeling a little more exhausted despite having not fought any Shadows.

Yu yawned. "Well, I'm gonna go back to sleep," he announced. "Good night, Kirijo-senpai."

"Good night, Narukami-kun," she replied as she powered down the machines.

* * *

April 24:

The next morning, Yu still felt just as tired as he did the previous night.

 _Ugh,_ Yu thought. _It's times like these that I wish I had someone else to talk to about my past._

 **"You called?"** a voice boomed, which caused Yu to jump out of his bed.

 _W-What the hell?_ Yu asked himself. _Who's there?_

 **"You don't recognize me?"** the voice asked as a human-like figure materialized on Yu's bed; once the figure materialized in a semi-transparent form, Yu's eyes grew wide at what he was seeing.

"Izanagi!?" Yu asked. His signature Persona, black coat and yellow helmet in all, nodded in response. "You mean you can talk?"

Izanagi nodded again. **"Of course. You just never asked."**

Yu scratched his head. "Well, I thought you and the others were only good for battle."

 **"But we ARE aspects of your personality, so you could've always asked."**

Yu wanted to question more about how this worked, but after remembering how much sense it was that he was here in 2009, he just vacated the thought from his mind. "A-Anyways, the way you responded to my first thought leads me to think that you heard what I just said."

 **"I AM you, so I CAN hear your thoughts."**

"So do you remember my time in Inaba like I do?"

Izanagi nodded. **"Certainly."**

"Then what did I say to King Moron at the beginning of the year?"

 **"You asked him if he called you a loser."**

Yu nodded. "Good. Then what happened after the school camping trip?"

" **You, Yosuke, and Kanji ended up in the river with King Moron's vomit."**

Yu shuddered. "Yep. I was trying to forget that."

" **And before you ask, I know about Marie."**

"Alright, alright, that's enough! I believe you. So why talk to me now?"

 **"You asked."**

Yu shrugged. "I didn't really ask, but I guess it's better then having no one to talk to, I guess."

 **"Say, weren't you just getting ready for school?"**

Yu looked down to see that he was still in his pajamas. "Oh, that I was. Thanks."

 **"Anything to help myself."**

Yu looked to Izanagi. "Did you have to say it like that it like that?"

 **"Well, I am helping you from being late to class, and that helps me in a sense, so yes."**

Yu scratched his head again. "You're acting so weird right now." Finally, after their seemingly endless banter concluded, Yu stripped off his pajamas and dressed himself in his standard Gekkoukan uniform; then, after looking at himself in a mirror, he walked out to the hall, down to the ground floor, and out the front door, with Izanagi hovering not too far behind him.

"I'm guessing no one can see you?" Yu asked Izanagi.

 **"Of course not,"** Izanagi replied. **"It wouldn't make sense if someone could physically see other aspects of yourself."**

"Wow, how logical of you." Despite his sarcasm, Yu was actually relieved that he was the only one who could see Izanagi. "Wait, what about other Persona users?"

Izanagi shrugged. **"I'm not sure. Do you think I know everything?"**

Yu shook his head. "No. Guess I shouldn't be surprised." After saying this, Izanagi vanished, and not long after that, Yu was at the station, boarding the next available monorail. As he walked down the car to find a seat, one person in particular caught his attention out of the corner of his eye; at first glance, the person in question looked like a regular, female Gekkoukan student, but her auburn hair and striking, crimson red eyes made her stand out among the crowd, making Yu wonder why he hadn't noticed her before.

"Oh, Yu!" Akihiko called as Yu redirected his attention to him; with the monorail creeping to life, Yu decided to sit down next to his stoic teammate.

"How're you healing up?" Yu asked.

Akihiko frowned lightly. "Slowly, and it's gotten old really quick."

"Anxious to get back in the game?" Yu followed.

Akihiko nodded frantically. "Oh, you have no idea. If I could, I'd be fighting alongside all of you right now."

"Well, if you can't, then you can't." Yu then looked back to the girl from before, who was sitting as still as stone as the monorail chugged along.

"Falling in love over here?" Akihiko asked, which made Yu jump, return to his previous sitting position, and blush.

"I-It's not like that," Yu stuttered.

"Relax, man," Akihiko replied as he proceeded to stare. "She is quite a looker."

Yu's expression changed pretty quickly after hearing this comment. "Then why don't you ask her out?"

Akihiko shook his head. "Eh, I don't think I'm cut out for that kind of life."

Yu raised one eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? You're looking at her pretty funny."

Akihiko nodded. "I'm sure."

"Hold up," Yu suddenly interjected. "You say she's a looker, and yet you refuse to talk to her."

Akihiko turned his gaze back to Yu. "So what's your point?"

"Do you... Do you not know what to say to her?"

Akihiko's expression then fluctuated wildly until he ended up looking and acting angry. "W-What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying I'm not good with women?"

Yu motioned for Akihiko to calm down. "H-Hey, relax! Sorry if I was acting a little rude."

Akihiko, after calming down, then looked forward to nothing in particular. "No, I'm sorry. I am a little sensitive on that subject."

Yu nodded. "I understand."

The crashing noise went off in Yu's head once more, once more indicating a social link rank up.

Once time resumed, he looked back to Akihiko. "Seriously, though, why don't you ask her out?"

Akihiko frowned. "You wouldn't understand."

"I'm sure I would."

"Well, maybe some other time." Yu nodded in confirmation, then glanced back at the girl that caused he and Akihiko's mix of harsh emotions for a brief moment.

* * *

The school day went on as usual, with the classes droning on and on, almost to the point that Yu found them eerily similar to Yasogami's lectures; actually, considering the time gap and differences between the two schools, Yu actually considered the idea that these WERE the exact same lessons, but it didn't change the fact that the lessons were either too boring or (in the case with one teacher in particular, Mr. Edogawa) too long and overly complicated. He could still say this much, though: it was a million times better than dealing with King Moron, but this thought simply depressed him and raised even more questions.

At least this time, Yu didn't dwell on it too much, since right as school ended, fully prepared to head straight back to the dorm, Junpei was waiting by the classroom door.

"Hey, Yu," Junpei greeted, which sounded a little weird to Yu considering how long Junpei called him Narukami-san.

"What's up, Junpei?" Yu asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to head to the arcade. You seemed a little stressed this week, so I thought that, you know..."

All Yu could do at that moment was smile at Junpei's genuine concern for his well being. "Sure. I've been meaning to go there anyways."

Again, Junpei sported a goofy smile in response. "For real? Sweet!"

"Just lead the way." In response to this, the two of them exited the classroom, went down the stairs at the right end of the hallway, traveled down the following hallway to the lobby, and exited the school grounds on their way to Paulownia Mall. As they walked on, Yu noticed the girl on the monorail from earlier walking back to the station alone; he wondered if she had any friends, but he shrugged it off as he and Junpei continued their trek to the mall.

 **"So he's one of your new friends?"** Izanagi asked.

 _"Yes,"_ Yu replied in his head.

 **"He kinda reminds me of Yosuke."**

" _I know. Crazy, huh?"_ After getting no response from Izanagi, Yu just refocused as he and Junpei walked into the arcade. While Junpei took off in his own direction almost immediately, Yu casually walked over to the back of the arcade to find some simpler, more casual games to play. As Yu played and played over the next hour, he was feeling the most relaxed that he had been since arriving; sure, his mind wasn't completely at ease, but at least he was feeling a little more at home.

As Yu finished up the game he was playing, Yu stepped away from the machine and proceeded to search for Junpei, whom he found wandering around as he was, and once the two locked eyes, Junpei waved to Yu from afar.

"Yu!" Junpei shouted. "Come here real quick!"

"What's up?" Yu asked as he walked over to Junpei's position.

"There's this one game I want to play with you."

"What kind of game is it?" Yu asked, intrigued.

"It's a light gun game. Whaddaya say?"

Yu shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm not the biggest fan, but what the hell? Sure." Yu walked closer to Junpei, whom then started moving further away, presumably to the game's location, before stopping in front of one of the machines. When Yu finally made it to the game Junpei wanted to play, he found that it was, in fact, just a standard light gun game. He picked up one of the two gun controllers as Junpei deposited the necessary change to begin playing, which was then followed up by another hour or so of playing the aforementioned game; although, like Yu claimed, he wasn't the biggest fan of the genre, he still had a pretty fun time playing with Junpei, since it reminded him of the good times he had hanging out with Yosuke.

But all good times do ultimately come to an end, as after many, many rounds of the mindless shooter, they were both greeted by a game over screen.

"Whew!" Junpei remarked. "So, what did you think, Yu?"

Yu nodded. "I enjoyed that a lot more than I thought I would," he replied.

"That's good." Then, Junpei patted Yu's back. "And admit it: you had a lot of fun."

Again, Yu nodded. "I never said I wouldn't have fun."

"Yeah, right," Junpei replied, unconvinced. "The look on your face says otherwise."

Yu nodded. "Alright, you got me. I thought this trip would be a waste. I'm glad I was wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"After the week we had, I wasn't sure If I could actually relax."

"Sounds to me like someone's taking things too seriously."

Yu nodded reluctantly. "You may be right."

"But hey, Junpei added, "being too serious isn't always a bad thing. It may actually save our lives one day."

Yu nodded confidently. "Thanks, Junpei." Despite Junpei's goofy persistence, Yu could tell he was trying his best to help Yu out, and it was working as far as Yu was concerned; besides the trip being a success, it seemed as though Junpei was equally concerned about Yu's mental state, like a true friend would.

The crashing noise came and went without Yu flinching a muscle, since by now it became less of a nuisance and more of a sign of definitive progress.

"How about we head back to the dorm now?" Yu suggested. "I think we've had enough of the arcade for one day."

Junpei nodded. "Yeah. It can get a little boring here after a while." And with that, the two of them made their way back to the dorm, talking along the way all the while.

* * *

That night, Yu decided to once again train inside Tartarus by himself, and he hoped once more that everything would go smoothly. Fortunately for him, things did go his way as he fought through wave after wave of weak Shadows which, over time, made his and Izanagi's power grow; for example, Izanagi learned two more moves, Rakukaja and Rakunda, while Yu acquired a Pixie, Apsaras, and Nekomata Persona card, all of which would serve him well once he returned to the Velvet Room.

After a while, Yu decided to return to the dorm, even though there was some time left before the Dark Hour ended; he was convinced that he could've dropped at any moment since he was fighting the Shadows, but that was besides the point. As he walked, Yu eyed a familiar sight as he passed by the Mall; curious, Yu decided to walk over to the Mall, certain it would cause no harm, and once he got there, his suspicion was confirmed when he saw that it was the same auburn haired girl from school, wandering around on her own.

"What're you doing here?" Yu asked the girl, who turned her head back to Yu and shrugged her shoulders.

"I always come here when I'm lonely," she replied simply.

"And the coffins lying all over the place doesn't give you the chills at all?"

She frowned. "Well, that part is a little creepy, but it can't be all bad." After making this comment, she turned around, ready to move on to where ever she was hoping to go next before turning to face Yu again. "Wait, have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Well, I've seen you before. Does that count?"

Her eyes widened. "Wait, you're the one from school."

"So you have seen me before?" Yu asked.

The girl nodded.

"Well, that doesn't matter." Yu refocused his attention. "What are you doing out at this time of night?"

"I've been coming here since I transferred," she replied.

"You're a transfer student too?" Yu asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

Yu shrugged his shoulders. "No reason."

"So, what are you doing here, hmm?" she asked flirtatiously. "You're not in love with me, are you?"

Suddenly, Yu broke eye contact with the girl, looking in another direction while he blushed. "O-Of course not. What gives you that idea?"

"Well, I'm a girl walking all alone, and I thought you were like my stalker or something."

Yu's embarrassment promptly turned to rage. "Why the hell would you think that?! I would never do such a thing!"

The girl laughed. "Oh, relax! I'm just joking."

Yu huffed. "Well you have some messed up sense of humor, that's for sure!"

"Ooh, did I hit a nerve?" she asked in a playful tone.

"You're damn right. I swear..."

"Well, what do we have here?" an unknown voice asked. Now both Yu and the girl stiffened up and zipped their mouths shut; they knew they were in trouble, but Yu had the feeling he'd heard the voice from somewhere; the question is: where?

"Turn around," the voice demanded. "Slowly." Obediently, both the girl and Yu turned around to face whoever was threatening them; unfortunately for Yu, his fears were proven true, as he was facing three very familiar looking people: a pale skinned man wearing tattered jeans and brown boots, a second man wearing a green jacket, dark (or navy) blue pants, and black shoes while holding a silver briefcase, and a girl, maybe a little older than Mitsuru, dressed in a white lolita dress.

"What do you want?" Yu asked, mostly hiding his fear.

"Maybe nothing, maybe something," the pale skinned man replied, sneering.

"But what could you possibly want from us?" the girl next to Yu asked.

"That's for us to know and you to find out, little lady," the other man replied. "Now, we have a few questions for the two of you."

Yu nodded. "Ask away. I was just trying to get the hell home anyways."

As if they were ignoring Yu's last comment, the pale one, whom Yu assumed was the leader of the bunch, began to ask the first question. "What are you doing here at a time like this? Shouldn't you kids be asleep?"

"We're hardly kids," Yu began, "but, you see..."

"This guy's my boyfriend," the red head interrupted, which prompted Yu to glare at her, "and he just came to come get me, right?"

Despite how flustered Yu was at that moment, he looked back to the trio and brainstormed; this girl was an airhead, but she inadvertently found a way out of this whole mess, so he simply nodded his head, and went along with it. "Y-Yeah. You know it, babe." Yu couldn't believe what he was saying, but if he could pull this off, then perhaps they could get away from this group.

The leader nodded. "I see. Next question: you do know what time it is, right?" Yu's mind then clicked, and he finally got the big picture; these three had a clear understanding about the Dark Hour, but what they would try to do would depend on their answer; however, if he said that it was midnight, would they think he was lying? He'd been cooperative up until now, so could that be a possibility? And what could the girl to his right be thinking during all this? All in all, these questions were bouncing around in his head so many times that he couldn't bring himself to answer at all.

"Well?" the leader asked.

It's too late. Yu had to answer. "I..."

"What the hell are you doing?" a new voice asked.

* * *

 **Whew, finally! Yes, I'm not dead. I just had a serious case of writers block, as I wrote all these individual sections at almost entirely different points in time since I last updated, and that might actually show in my writing if it's glaringly obvious. Ah, well, at least I'm here, right?**

 **Anyways, a lack of drive wasn't the only reason I've been absent. I've been auditioning for various fandub/abridged series, and I actually got booked for one of them, but I'd rather not talk about it right now; also, I made a test episode for a manga dub, which I'm actually going through with, and for those who might be interested, I'm holding auditions at the fandub Proboards right now.**

 **Alright, that's enough soapboxing/shamelessly self promoting stuff I'm involved with, let's review Yu's social links once more:**

 **Fool (SEES) – Rank 2**

 **Magician (Junpei) – Rank 3**

 **Priestess (Fuuka) – Rank 1**

 **Empress (Mitsuru) – Rank 2**

 **Emperor (Akihiko) – Rank 2**

 **Lovers (Yukari) – Rank 1**

 **Aeon (Minato) – Rank 2**

 **And great news, guys! In addition to the slew of characters introduced into the story this chapter, I've resolved three social links I was lacking, so I only have three left to figure out.**

 **Anyways, onto the reviews:**

 **Gilgamesh The King of Heroes – You seriously can't guess the speck? Maybe now you have it? And Yu didn't exactly come to 2009 Iwatodai through natural means, so who's to say he'll go back to his time through natural means?**

 **SeventhAssasin – I know I'd have to make an OC or two; I only ask for suggestions because I'm trying to drive reader engagement to a story that I'm writing, in part, for the fans. And I'm flattered you enjoyed how I wrote Yu revealing his secret to Minato; that was probably the least difficult thing to write last chapter.**

 **Lovadren – Glad you liked the action. Sadly, there was very little this chapter. :( Jokes aside, I didn't include Minato learning about Yu's secret without a reason, and I believe this plot detail will hold with the plot of the game. At least, I hope.**

 **Sulphur99 – The bosses were, indeed, Venus Eagles. Probably should've pointed that out in the chapter itself. And I believe this story to be a mix between the games, the anime, and the manga for each storyline, so something like Minato shouting "CHANGE!" purposely came from Persona 4: The Animation, because I like reusing a lot of stuff from all mediums, but I digress.**

 **Pecan Crisp – I want to be angry with you, but I can only applaud you for being the first one to make that joke. I won't be so merciful next time, though. XD**

 **Marvey4 – It shouldn't be wise for Yu to reveal that kind of sensitive information, but I think it'll work out. Somehow. As for Yu, he still remembers Yukiko from his timeline, but there may be a pairing for him. Hell, maybe there was hints of one this chapter…**

 **Guest – As I said before, I know I'll eventually have to make OCs. I just like to drive interactivity with my audience so they can feel like the story molds around their suggestions. Hope that makes sense.**

 **Whew, thank you all for those reviews! I read every single one, and they all help for me to keep up with the story. However, expect fewer updates than you've been accustomed to since I have other projects I'm working on, like the manga dub, my voice acting work, videos for YouTube, etc, not to mention that I'll be starting college not too far from now, so maybe I will actually use my Twitter account for updates, so if you want to keep up with me and anything I'm doing, follow me rjm324, and until the next juicy chapter, read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	13. Companionship With Evil

As soon as that sentence was uttered, Yu's eyes bolted around, seeking out the voice's owner; all the while, the group of three that was trying to extract information out of him seemed somewhat unfazed by the unknown individual. Finally, Yu eyed a shadowy figure walking towards them from out of the darkness. As the figure drew closer and into the moonlight, Yu took notes on this mysterious figure's appearance: it was a man, maybe around Akihiko's age, but noticeably taller than anyone he'd met so far, and he wore a maroon pea coat, black pants, brown shoes, and a beanie. Yu was sure the man was speaking to the group interrogating him, but one thing was for sure: he didn't want to be on the guy's bad side.

"Get lost," the man in the green jacket replied back. "This doesn't concern you."

"Oh really?" the new man snapped back. "Then why does it look like you bastards are holding two innocent people hostage for no reason?"

 **"At least he's on our side,"** Izanagi told Yu.

 _"Seems that way,"_ Yu replied back.

The pale skinned man then turned to face him. "It isn't like that. We're just collecting information from them. That's all."

The new man looked unconvinced. "Like what, Takaya?"

The pale man, now called Takaya, continued. "We were simply asking them what they were doing out and about at this hour."

"And did you get what you wanted out of them?"

Takaya nodded. "Yes, but..."

"Then let them go and get the hell out of here." At first, Yu believed that Takaya would try retaliating, but to his surprise, Takaya nodded and returned his gaze to Yu and his female companion.

"Thank you for your time," Takaya began, "but I'm afraid we must be on our way." The group of three, the ones who'd been able to intimidate him into near submission, was now casually strolling away in retreat, but Yu had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time he'd meet this shady group. Not by a long shot. After he was sure they weren't in any immediate danger, Yu gasped, caught his breath, and faced the man who'd saved him from the three.

"T-Thank you," Yu stuttered.

"Y-Yeah, thanks mister," the red haired girl followed.

The man turned his head from the two. "I didn't do shit, hear me?"

"Whoa, not very sociable, are we?" the girl asked. The man said nothing as he proceeded to walk away from the two nonchalantly.

"Wait!" Yu shouted to the man. "Who are you?"

"Who I am is none of your concern," the man uttered as he continued. "Just stay the hell away from those three. You don't want to get tangled up with the likes of those bastards."

Yu nodded. "I kinda figured that. Well, thanks again."

"Tch. I don't need your praise, dumbass." And just like that, the man disappeared from view, leaving the Mall area quiet once more. Even though Yu wasn't quite sure what to think about this man, he could tell he meant them no harm; regardless, Yu, per the norm, filed the thought away and faced the girl once more.

"Are you alright?" Yu asked.

The girl nodded confidently. "Yep. All thanks to that guy, of course!"

"That's good." Yu then sighed in exhaustion. "But man, how can you act so chipper after that?"

"Well, why did you have to act so serious during all that?"

"I very much like living, thank you very much."

"Aww, were you worried about little old me? That's sweet."

Again, Yu blushed faintly. "I-It's not like that. I always think about the well being of anyone I meet. S-Stop getting the wrong idea."

 **"It's almost like you're talking to Rise again,"** Izanagi pointed out.

 _"Not now, Izzy,"_ Yu replied to shut his Persona up. "Regardless, we really dodged a bullet there."

"Yeah, you're right." The girl yawned. "Well, I'm gonna head home. That's enough excitement for this girl for one day."

"Same here. It feels like I'm drenched with sweat." As Yu turned around to head back to the dorm, he realized he hadn't asked for the girl's name yet, so he quickly turned around. "Hold up, what's your name?"

The girl, who was also running back to wherever she came from, quickly twirled around. "Hamuko Yuki! And yours?"

"Yu. Yu Narukami."

"Well then, I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow!"

"Yeah. See you later." As Yu said this, he continued running back to the dorm just in case that group decided to come back for a second round.

* * *

When Yu opened his eyes again, he found himself completely surrounded by fog, which wasn't a unfamiliar sight anymore. He could walk forward, backward, or sideways, but he knew that it would be pointless to do so and instead waited for whatever, or whoever, it was that called him here. Sure enough, after a moment or two of waiting, a familiar, pale skinned figure in a white robe appeared before him.

"Hello, Izanami," Yu greeted coldly.

"I'm glad you still remember me," Izanami replied.

"Why the hell wouldn't I?" Yu retorted. "After all, I'm only in this mess because of you."

Izanami chuckled. "Ah, but you're the one who volunteered for all this when you first summoned your Persona."

"But…" Yu groaned. "Never mind. Why are you here?"

"What, a goddess can't check in on her pawns every so often?" Yu went silent. "Now then, I assume you've been in reasonably good health?"

Yu crossed his arms. "Why not just ask me for the information you're really here for?"

Izanami begrudgingly nodded. "Fine then. Is your journey advancing at a decent clip?"

Yu recounted. "Well, it's been around two weeks since I arrived, and I'm not dead yet, so yes. Things are progressing fine."

"Excellent." She smiled warmly, which was still a pleasing sight. "I just knew you'd be up to the task."

Yu nodded. "Yeah. Big surprise how blackmail works."

"Me? Blackmail you?" Izanami chuckled. "Surely you jest."

"I don't joke about a life or death situation."

Izanami nodded firmly. "Fair enough."

"You know, while I have the opportunity to ask," Yu began, "why exactly did you offer me this chance in the first place?"

Izanami's smile disappeared. "Must I repeat myself? Mankind's desires are my desires; so if you desire your friends, I'll happily oblige."

"See, that makes no sense," Yu countered. "You desired to fill our world with fog to turn everyone into Shadows, and since we were a kink in your plans, you desired to kill us to go through with it." He paused. "Then suddenly, at the brink of success, you changed your mind and decided to help me. Just… why?"

Izanami sighed. "It may not seem like it, but I truly mean what I say. When I say my desires are mankind's desires, I mean that I wish for humanity's happiness. You are the happiest around your friends, and when I saw you sad and enraged without them, I made it my business to change that."

"And why's that?"

Izanami shook her head. "I'm afraid that's a story for another time, so for now, disregard what I said."

Yu's face contorted in confusion. "O-Okay." What Izanami was inferring, Yu didn't know, but all he knew at that moment was that she did care about Yu's well being, one way or another.

 _Wait,_ Yu thought. _Is this going where I think it's going?_

As if on cue, the crashing noise went off in his head.

 _God damn it!_ As he cursed himself, he saw the Devil tarot card appear in his vision.

 ** **Thou Art I… And I Am Thou… Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Devil Arcana.****

 _I'm not happy about this,_ Yu thought. There was a long silence, as neither Yu nor Izanami desired to speak.

"Well, I guess I should let you go," Izanami said, breaking the silence.

"Please," Yu snapped back.

"Until next time, my little pawn." Yu's vision then started to fade as he slowly regained consciousness.

* * *

April 25:

 **"Good morning, Yu,"** Izanagi greeted as Yu opened his eyes and got out of the bed.

"Morning, Izzy," Yu replied. "Say, do you ever need to sleep?"

 **"Not really,"** Izanagi replied back. **"We don't usually do anything strenuous inside your head, so we really only get tired once we've battled."**

"So were you tired last night during practice?"

 **"No. None of those Shadows were a challenge."**

Yu chuckled. "That's a good one."

Izanagi nodded. **"It **is still strangely satisfying, though."****

"Oh, I bet. Now quiet down. I need to get ready for school."

 ** **"You gonna be excited to see that Hamuko girl?"****

"Excited? No." Yu replied bluntly. "Glad to see her unharmed? Yes."

 ** **"You're trying to tell me you feel nothing with her?"****

Yu nodded. "I already have a girlfriend, remember?"

 ** **"I disagree. Even I felt something. I should know..."****

"...because you're a part of me." Yu sighed. "I feel like I'm gonna hear that a lot."

 ** **"Yeah, I'm gonna shut up now."****

"No, by all means, keep talking. I'm dressed now."

 ** **"Eh, I'm still gonna shut up."**** Suddenly, the two were startled by a knock on the door.

"Who's there?" Yu asked.

"It's me," the somewhat monotonous voice of Minato announced through the door.

"You wanting to walk to school with me?" Yu asked.

Minato took a minute to response. "If you don't mind."

"Sounds good. Be out in just a minute." After picking up his backpack, Yu opened his door and came face to face with Minato; the two of them then proceeded down the dorm stairs and down the same monotonous path to the station.

"So, how are you liking Iwatodai?" Minato asked.

Yu shrugged. "It's nice. Not as quiet as a quiet rural town, but it reminds me of the times I had before that."

Minato shot Yu a puzzled face. "Run that by me again?"

Yu chuckled. "In short, I'm liking Iwatodai."

"Ah. That's good."

"What about you? I heard you were a transfer student too."

Minato nodded. "It's the same as when I last lived here: lively."

"You lived here before?"

"Yeah. When I was a little kid."

"What made you move back?"

"..."

Yu frowned. "Oh… Forget I asked."

Minato nodded. "Well, enough about me. What are things like in your own time?"

Again, Yu shrugged. "Nothing too special." Then, a light bulb went off in Yu's head. "Actually, one time we came here as a class trip."

Minato became interested. "Is that so? How did this place look?"

"I was able to find my way around here in a few days."

"Meaning?"

"The layout didn't change much. But I don't remember seeing any of you all."

Minato shrugged. "I guess we move on to different places after we graduate."

"I guess." The two of them walked in silence for the longest time; even when they got on the monorail, they sat in silence. Yu didn't immediately see Hamuko today, so Yu decided to try conversing with Minato once more; however, that was easier said than done, because he wasn't sure what to talk to Minato about. He could talk more about his own time, but he contemplated how badly the timeline would get messed up if he kept at it. Actually, there was one thing he could bring up, but…

"Is something wrong?" Minato asked.

Yu shook his head. "I dunno. I just had a thought cross my mind."

"About what?"

"About you. I get the feeling I've met you somewhere before."

Minato shook his head. "I doubt it. I'm sure I'd remember you at one of my old schools."

Yu nodded. "Good point."

"How did your night go last night?" Minato asked suddenly.

Immediately remembering the semi-chaos of what happened, Yu simply shrugged. "It went fine. I got a few Personas, got more powerful, the usual stuff." He looked to Minato. "Did you expect something spectacular?"

Minato shook his head. "I guess not. I was just curious."

"Well, thanks for worrying."

The crashing noise went off in Yu's head again.

"I have another question," Minato added as time resumed.

"What is it?" Yu asked.

"Am I one of your social links?"

Yu nodded. "Guilty as charged." Another light bulb went off in Yu's head. "Oh, but I have another question for you, too."

"Hmm?"

"Have you tried talking to your Personas?"

Minato tilted his head. "Excuse me?"

Yu chuckled, shaking his head. "It's a long story."

* * *

Almost immediately after leaving the classroom, Yu spotted the lonely Hamuko, who was walking out of another classroom a few doors down; mostly because he was concerned about her, Yu decided to catch up and talk to her.

"Hey there," Yu greeted, which made Hamuko turn her head to Yu impulsively.

"Oh!" she chirped. "Heya, Yu! How's it going?"

"It's going. Say, can I talk to you in private?"

Hamuko's eyes widened. "Ooh, what's this all about? You gonna confess your love for me?"

Yu coughed. "Can you just come with?"

Although Yu could sense Hamuko lost a bit of perkiness, she still nodded with a bright smile. "Sure! Where do you want us to go?"

"Uh, by Port Island Station?"

She frowned. "That doesn't sound too private."

Yu also frowned. "Well, where do you want to go?"

Hamuko brightened up. "I'm glad you asked. Follow me!" Before Yu could attempt to argue, Hamuko grabbed Yu's arm and started dragging him through the school, attracting the attention of everyone they passed.

 _This girl really does remind me of Rise,_ Yu thought.

 ** **"I told you so, Yu,"**** Izanagi replied.

Yu scowled. _"Shut up, Izanagi."_ The next ten or so minutes were spent with Yu questioning whether or not this was a smart idea, letting Hamuko drag him along the whole way to wherever she was taking him. Where she was taking them, Yu didn't know, but at a certain point, he wondered if he should worry.

"Oh," Yu sighed as Hamuko finally stopped at their destination. "I was imagining something a lot worse."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "It's only an alley. No one would think to listen in on us here."

Yu rubbed the back of his head. "Err, sure." He paused. "Anyways, let's go." Yu looked around the Paulownia Mall area to make sure there was no one following them; once he was sure, the two of them entered the back alley.

"Alright, we're here!" Hamuko announced as the two of them stopped in place. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well for starters," Yu began, "you haven't told anybody about what happened last night, have you?"

Hamuko shook her head. "No. I don't really know anyone here, so how could I?"

"Not even to family?"

Hamuko shook her head again.

Yu nodded. "That's good."

"Why is that?" Hamuko asked, audibly confused. "Shouldn't we want those three to be arrested or something?"

"Normally, yes," Yu started. "But couldn't you tell that that situation wasn't normal?"

"You mean like the coffins?"

Yu nodded. "Yeah. Didn't you find that off putting?"

"Well, sorta. I've noticed it for a while now, but I never knew what to think of it." She then looked at Yu with a more serious face. "Why? Do you know something about it?"

Yu nodded softly. "Yeah, but I'm not sure if I should say."

Hamuko's eyes widened. "Aww, c'mon! Please!"

 ** **"Maybe you should tell her,"**** Izanagi suggested.

 _"You think so?"_ Yu asked him.

 ** **"If she's able to experience the Dark Hour, then she deserves to know."****

 _"Well, you have a point."_

"Yu?" Hamuko asked, concerned. "You okay there?"

Yu nodded. "Yeah. Sorry, I was lost in thought."

Hamuko perked back up. "So… are you gonna tell me?"

Yu sighed begrudgingly, but nodded. "Sure, but you can't tell anyone."

Hamuko nodded. "Of course! Cross my heart and hope to die!"

Yu nodded. "Alright. You see, every night at midnight, an hour hidden between two days takes place. Most people aren't aware of it, and transmogrify into coffins. Some can become aware of it, but they get preyed on by beings called Shadows before eventually becoming inflicted with this ailment called Apathy Syndrome."

"Really?" Hamuko asked. "Then how come I've never seen them?"

"That's besides the point."

Hamuko frowned. "But if that's true, how can they be stopped?"

"They have to be defeated in battle."

"Like in a fist fight?" Hamuko was clearly very hyper, but interested.

Yu nodded. "Something like that."

"Wow. So do you fight them?"

"Sometimes," Yu downplayed.

Hamuko scratched the top of her head. "So… is that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

Yu nodded. "Pretty much."

"Aww," Hamuko groaned disappointingly. "I was hoping for something a little juicier than that. Like a proposal of love."

"Why do you keep getting that idea in your head?!" Yu asked, near angry.

"W-Well, I don't have many friends, let alone "boy" friends, so you can imagine how lonely that can get." For once, Hamuko's expression changed to one of gloominess; in fact, it almost seemed like she was about to cry.

"O-Oh," Yu stammered apologetically. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"T-Then… could we maybe hang out some other time?" Hamuko asked pleadingly. "I'd really appreciate the company."

Yu put his hand on Hamuko's shoulder. "Of course. I'd hate to leave someone like you feeling so miserable."

Hamuko's eyes widened in excitement. "R-Really? Yay!" The excitable look in Hamuko's face, somehow, managed to make Yu's heart melt a little. He was now curious to see how she was able to stay so positive, all things considered.

The crashing noise went off in Yu's head, and it was only after this new link that Yu lost track of how many he'd made at this point.

 ** **Thou Art I… And I Am Thou… Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Hanged Man Arcana.****

 _The Hanged Man?_ Yu thought, not entirely sure why this was Hamuko's Arcana. _Guess this is gonna be an interesting link._

"Well," Hamuko started as she stretched, "I'm gonna go ahead and head home, if that's alright."

Yu nodded. "Sure. I need to head back anyways. Catch you later, then."

Hamuko nodded. "Yeah! See you later, cutie!" Before Yu could protest this, she was gone in a flash.

 _Damn, that girl can be annoying,_ Yu thought as he rubbed the back of his head. _Even so, how does she seem like such an easy person to get along with?_

 ** **"I'm telling ya, it's love,"**** Izanagi suggested.

 ** _"_** _And what would you know about love?"_

 ** **"I used to have a wife once before, you know."****

 _"I remember, and look where that got us!"_ Izanagi went silent, and Yu, desperate to finish off the day in peace, decided to head to the station to take the monorail back home. As he walked, he couldn't help but reflect on how little has actually happened since the battle at the dorm; sure, he had a run in with a shady group and he and the others have been scaling Tartarus, but other than that, things have been rather quiet. He'd expected some decent battles with the Shadows by now, but they were all weak at the moment, not that he had a problem with it considering he was considerably weaker than back in Inaba.

It was then that he kicked something hard, and when he looked down, he saw that it was an unfamiliar briefcase. Or at least, he thought it was unfamiliar; somehow, he felt he'd seen it somewhere before. He picked it up to observe it a little better, but there was nothing spectacular about it: it was just a shiny, sleek silver briefcase. But then, why did Yu sense such a bad vibe from it?

"What're you doing with that?" a voice called from behind Yu, who turned around and nearly had a heart attack over who was standing there: the man in the green jacket from the night before.

"Are you deaf?" the man questioned as he attempted to pull the briefcase from Yu's hand. "Let it go!" Out of spite, Yu released his grip just as the man was pulling at his hardest, which left Yu standing tall as the man landed square on his butt.

"What the hell was that?" the man demanded.

Yu shrugged. "You said to let go, so I did."

"Tch." The man spit. "Quite the smartass, huh?"

Yu shook his head. "No. I'm just very blunt."

As soon as the man got back to his feet, his eyes widened once he realized whom he was conversing with. "Wait, you're that kid from last night."

"And what if I am? What're you gonna do to me?"

"..."

Yu nodded confidently. "Yeah, I thought so. It's a bright and sunny afternoon. Anyone and everyone can see us, so you couldn't touch me even if you wanted."

"Tch. I don't have time for this. I'm outta here." The man then proceeded walking in the direction of Port Island Station without a care in the world.

"Hold on!" Yu commanded, unsure as to what possessed him to say so. "Who are you?"

The man tilted his head to Yu. "What business is it of yours?"

"You act as if we won't cross paths again." Yu smiled smugly. "Would you rather me call you 'green jacket guy' next time?"

The man then stopped and turned to face Yu for the last time. "The name's Jin Shirato, and don't you forget it. Got it?"

Yu nodded. "I won't forget." Then, before he had time to react, the crashing noise went off in his head.

 _Ah, what the hell?!_ Yu complained, startled by the realization he came to.

 ** **Thou Art I… And I Am Thou… Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Hermit Arcana.****

 _I guess there's officially no limit to the type of people I can make social links with. What a pain._

"Tch, see you never," Jin replied coldly as he walked off without a peep. It was obvious to Yu that Jin wasn't very sociable, but it was also evident that Jin didn't care about him, and Yu was fine with that since he shared the same sentimentk. In fact, it now made the prospect of hanging out with Hamuko all the more desirable.

* * *

 ** **Alright, this is probably gonna be the last chapter to come out at a regular pace, since my first day of college is on Wednesday; having said that, it doesn't mean chapters will stop coming out completely, they'll just be coming out slower. But let's stick that to the side. I hope you guys are still on board after this chapter, because I never know how you guys are gonna react with every new installment. I know you guys have been with me since the first time you stated reading or placed this story in your favorite/alert list, so obviously I'm doing something right.****

 ** **Anyways, rather than repeat myself, let's only see the new/updated links of which Yu has forged:****

 ** **Minato (Aeon) – Rank 3****

 ** **Izanami (Devil) – New****

 ** **Hamuko (Hanged Man) – New****

 ** **Jin (Hermit) – New****

 ** **To be honest, I can't wait to see the reactions to that last one, since that was one of the first ideas for a social link I came up with. Will you love it? Will you hate it? Time will tell.****

 ** **Anyways, onto the reviews:****

 ** **PalaDude234 – I said this in a PM, but yes. I introduced Strega early, but they won't pop up too often until their time to shine in the story.****

 ** **Gilgamesh The King of Heroes – It's alright if you can't, but, again, I hope you'll figure it out, but now my expectations are fairly low. XD And as for the girl, she is the Female MC, just without the Wild Card abilities. Do you expect me to keep up with three sets of rotating Personas?****

 ** **mrthischarmingman2 – It is, and we'll see how interesting things get.****

 ** **Marvey4 – Glad you're happy about Hamuko. And you sir are one observant reader, because the man at the end of last chapter (and the beginning of this one) was, indeed, Shinji.****

 ** **SeventhAssasin – That's because you do. I'll see what twists I can incorporate, but for now, the story is still new, so no promises. And also no warning. ;)****

 ** **Lovadren – Yes, let's not spoil the surprise if you've got the gist of it. Also, thanks for caring about my outside project! I don't think I've had a fan quite like you, so I'm grateful! :)****

 ** **Sulphur99 – Aw, but I do want to look at you like that! T_T****

 ** **Anyways, as you saw, I'm using a mix between her fandom name (Hamuko) and the last name of the male protagonist from the movie (Yuki) to make things a little different. Hope you like it, I guess.****

 ** **Guest – We'll see on the pairing, because Hamuko is definitely into Yu like a certain other someone…****

 ** **And I never thought about how Aigis might react to Yu. Guess that'll be fun to think about. :)****

 ** **kitanalao – I'm glad you've taken an interest in my story and are reviewing quite a bit. Hope to see more reviews from you!****

 ** **And, that's all. I've got a life to live after all.****

 ** **Read on!****

 ** **-rjm324****

 **P.S. (because I forgot after writing) If I have any artists reading and you want to create some cover art for the story, by all means do that! I'd appreciate it if you did!**


	14. Perils of Tartarus

"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor greeted Yu. "How may I assist you?"

"I just came to fuse away a few Personas," Yu replied nonchalantly. "You know, the usual stuff."

Igor nodded. "And which Personas will you be fusing away?"

"Izanagi and Apsaras."

"Very well," With the wave of Igor's hand, the cards of Yu's respective Personae appeared on the table. Then, after a blinding flash of blue light, the two cards began to hover into the air; the cards floated higher and higher until the two collided, and out came a scantily clad woman with wings, covered only by a collection of black straps and seemingly wearing a black blindfold over her eyes.

 **"My name is Angel,"** the new Persona announced. **"I shall protect you with my life."** The Persona then reverted to card form and slowly descended to the table before vanishing into thin air.

"Is there anything else you require?" Igor asked.

Yu looked to Margaret. "I'd like to re-summon Izanagi, please."

"Very well," Margaret replied, "but it'll cost you 7,000 yen."

Yu dug in his pocket, pulled out the money, and handed it to Margaret. "You guys can be real cruel sometimes." A small crashing noise went off in his head, indicating Izanagi's return.

 **"Great to be back, Yu,"** Izanagi greeted.

 _"Glad to have you back,"_ Yu replied.

"Is there anything else?" Igor asked once again.

Yu shook his head. "I'm good for now. Thanks."

Igor nodded. "Of course."

"I look forward to seeing you again," Margaret replied as Yu's vision faded to white.

* * *

Slash after slash, Yu's concentration couldn't be broken as he and the rest were able to finish off wave after wave of mostly Cowardly Mayas and Muttering Tiaras, and frankly, Yu should've lost interest in them ages ago due to his familiarity with them throughout his training sessions. The Mayas were practically weak to every elemental spell, and he was wise as to not use fire on the Tiaras. And yet, as Izanagi had put it a while ago, they were still satisfying to beat.

"You alright over there?" Minato asked Yu, which snapped him out of his trance.

Yu nodded. "Yeah. I'm just waiting for a new Shadow to shake things up."

"I know what you mean!" Junpei butted in. "These things are kinda boring to fight, aren't they?"

"Don't misunderstand, though. I don't mind fighting them." Yu paused. "It just means we can get ever so slightly stronger until we have to adapt."

Minato nodded. "Well said." As they said this, another Shadow rounded the corner that laid ahead. Even when the Shadow's form was revealed, Yu simply tightened his grip on his katana and made a mad dash for it. It was as he expected; this was a new Shadow that decided to reveal itself, but despite its menacing design akin to a giant beetle, Yu still charged on ahead.

 _"Hold on!"_ Mitsuru cautioned. _"This Shadow is more powerful than the others!"_

"Relax," Yu replied calmly. "I've got this one!"

"H-Hey!" Junpei retorted as he followed not too far behind. "I can't let you have ALL the fun!" In no time flat, Yu and Junpei were running side by side in complete sync, right down to the swipes of their blades that, admittedly, didn't make much of a dent in the looming figure; in fact, it didn't seem like the beetle even tired as he swiped the two persistent Persona users away from its body.

"Oww!" Junpei yelped as he landed butt first on the ground. Conversely, Yu simply landed on his feet, blood trickling from a scratch on his cheek.

"Damn," Yu swore as he pulled out his Evoker. "He's tough, but let's see how he does against Izanagi!" As he uttered his Persona's name, he pulled the trigger, and Izanagi appeared, bringing down a bolt of lightning down on the beetle.

"Bulls-eye!" Junpei shouted, but his celebration was cut short as he saw that the beetle still stood its ground like a trooper. It was a direct hit, but why didn't it at least flinch?

"Mitsuru?" Minato asked. "Any ideas?"

 _"Give me a sec,"_ she replied as Minato pointed his Evoker to his head, pulled the trigger, and summoned Orpheus to cast an Agi spell that actually managed to make the Shadow flinch a little.

 _"It appears strong against electrical attacks,"_ Mitsuru finally replied.

"Alright then," Yu replied as he pointed his Evoker once more. "Let's try Angel!" He pulled the trigger, and out came the familiar scantily clad Persona he'd fused before entering Tartarus.

"Wha?" Junpei replied first in awe, then in envy. "No fair! You can summon multiple Personas too?"

"Hit it with a GARU!" Yu commanded, ignoring Junpei's criticism while he focused on the battle. Angel responded by lifting her arm up, casting a wall of wind around the Shadow that finally brought the Shadow to its knees.

 _"Outstanding!"_ Mitsuru congratulated. _"It appears to be weak to wind!"_

"Yukari!" Yu shouted as he turned his head to his familiar comrade. "Why don't you take a stab at it too?"

Yukari nodded. "Sure!" she replied as she pulled her Evoker out as well, finally summoning out Io without so much as a flinch which, as Yu saw it, was a major improvement from the very beginning. And as the second wall of wind enveloped the Shadow, it begin to dissolve, and once the dust settled, it no longer blocked their path; in fact, nothing remained of their intimidating opponent whatsoever.

"Boo-yah!" Junpei celebrated.

"I think my skill level has increased!" Yukari announced.

"Mine too," Yu replied.

Minato moved to the front of the group. "Don't celebrate too much," he announced. "We've still got a ways to go before we reach the next teleporter, so let's try picking up the pace."

Yu nodded. "Agreed. C'mon guys." And with that the group got back on track and followed the long hallway, dispatching more or less the same enemies as they had before, with the exception of a few more of the beetles from before, which they had been informed were called Grave Beetles, but they weren't that much of a threat anymore since they knew their weakness.

Finally, after the long string of Shadows was defeated, the group was presented with a long, empty hallway that led to the next flight of stairs, much to the chagrin of Junpei.

"Man, where's the challenge?" he complained. "I mean, I don't mind having a breather every so often, but seriously. There's no fun in it!"

"Are you kidding?" Yukari snapped back. "You seemed to be having a lot of fun from what I saw."

"She's right," Yu replied bluntly. "I think you're lying to yourself."

"Y-You too, man?" he stuttered before looking to Minato hopefully. "W-What about you? I-I can't be the only one who…"

 **"He just goes on and on doesn't he?"** Angel asked Yu.

 _"Well, that's his specialty,"_ Yu replied.

 **"They all have their specialty,"** Izanagi added. **"But that's what makes them feel so familiar."**

 _"I know what you mean, Izzy. They feel just like my friends back in Inaba."_

Izanagi nodded. **"Yeah, you're right."**

"Anyone home?" Junpei asked Yu as he waved his hand in front of Yu's face.

Yu pushed Junpei's hand back to its owner's side. "Yeah, I'm home."

"Just checking man," Junpei replied as he turned around and the group got moving. "You seem kinda out of it today."

"I think it's because of his conversations with himself," Minato uttered.

Junpei looked to Minato as though he said something crazy. "Whaddaya mean?"

Yu put his hand on Junpei's shoulder. "He means that I've been talking to my Personas."

"S-Seriously? You can do that?"

Yu pulled out his Evoker once more and summoned Izanagi. "Why don't you ask him?"

 **"It's true. In fact, all of you could converse with everyone's Personae."**

"F-For reals? L-Let me try!"

As Izanagi disappeared, Yu spoke up. "Save your energy. We still have to get to the next teleporter before the Dark Hour ends. And I don't want to think of what might happen if we stay here when that happens."

 _"Agreed,"_ Mitsuru replied. _"I'm glad to see you've thought ahead."_

"I always do. In any case, let's move on."

* * *

"A-Are these things for real?" Junpei asked as he commented on the next type of Shadow that none of them had seen before, not that it caught any of them by surprise; in fact, the bright pinks and whites made them virtually impossible to miss or ignore. "I mean, are we supposed to fight a bunch of babies?"

"I dunno," Yu commented. "There may be more to them, so try to take them a little more seriously." As he said this, one of the miniatures aimed an arrow towards Yu, which Yu was swiftly able to block with his katana.

 _"I just analyzed them,"_ Mitsuru replied. _"It appears they're weak to ice."_

"Damn," Yu swore. "That's one element I don't have access to."

"Me either," Minato replied back. That meant that, for the first time, no one had the advantage against the enemy. As they contemplated this, one of the Shadows prepared another attack for Yu, only this time, Yu became surrounded by a wall of wind, which was surprisingly more painful than usual.

 _Damn,_ Yu swore to himself. _I had to be using Izzy right now._

 **"It's not my fault I happen to be weak to it!"**

 _"I wasn't blaming you! Relax!"_ Finally, the wind dissipated, leaving Yu to take a knee while Yukari ran over to cast a Dia spell on him; meanwhile, Minato casted Agi on one of the the angelic devils while Junpei took mad swipes at the others until the pack of three was eventually dispatched.

"You okay over there?" Minato asked.

Yu held a thumb up. "I've been better."

"You didn't even take that big of a beating," Junpei added.

 _"I wouldn't be too sure,"_ Mitsuru replied. _"After all, you're weak to wind as well."_

"H-How do you…?"

"Why wouldn't she know?" Yu asked. "Did you already forget about her Persona's abilities?"

Junpei sighed. "Good point. Let's move on." He turned around and walked forward alongside Minato.

Yu then looked to Yukari. "Is he always like this?"

She shook her head. "Not normally. Sure, he's annoying, but he's only been acting like this since you and Arisato-kun got here."

"Huh. That's weird. Maybe we've something to do with it?"

Yukari nodded. "I-I guess. I never really thought of it like that."

"HEY, LOVEBIRDS!" Junpei shouted from the other end of the hall. "DO WE GOTTA COME PICK YOU UP LATER?"

Yukari was the first to speak up, veins popping out of her forehead. "S-SHUT UP, STUPEI! I-IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"

"AW, C'MON. NO NEED TO RESORT TO NAME CALLING!"

"TO BE FAIR," Yu added, "YOU KINDA ASKED FOR IT!"

"OH, GIVE ME A BREAK ALREADY!" Yu just smiled as he got back to his feet and walked side by side with Yukari as she and Junpei duked it out over a simple joke. It seemed like just the thing Yosuke and Chie would fight over.

* * *

As they climbed the stairs that would lead them to the next set of guardians, Yu looked back and saw that Junpei was still rubbing his lightly red cheek; Yu couldn't help but wince a little at his misfortune, especially considering it wasn't entirely his fault to begin with. Sure, he could've seen Junpei getting slapped by Yukari the same way he normally acts, but getting slapped after being compelled by an enemy attack is a little harsh.

"You alright down there?" Yu questioned.

"I'm fine, man," Junpei replied. "I think I'm still seeing a few stars, though."

"I said I was sorry," Yukari reiterated. "How was I supposed to know you were charmed?!"

 **"At least we didn't have to deal with this before,"** Izanagi said to Yu.

 _"You're telling me,"_ Yu replied in his head. Finally, the group reached the top of the stairwell, reaching floor 10, and standing before them was a group of three pink colored hands, similar to the Magic Hands from before except that the Magic Hands were white and, as all of them expected, were weaker than what stood before them.

 _"Stay on your guard,"_ Mitsuru warned. _"These guardians are much tougher than the last."_

"I think we already knew this," Yu stated, "but thanks for the heads up." He then faced Minato. "Any ideas?"

Minato nodded. "Attack them with everything you've got."

Yu nodded back. "Alright. Let's do it!" All three of them broke up into uneven groups (Minato and Yu, and Yukari and Junpei by themselves) and began attacking with everything they possibly had. Yukari was first, launching an arrow at every guardian, but that warranted little success. Junpei was next, swiping his sword against one of them, but not only didn't the hand slice in half, but it also didn't leave so much as a scratch.

"Damn," he remarked. "These bastards won't give up!"

"PERSONA!" Minato shouted as he summoned Orpheus into the fray; his trusty Persona then launched a ball of fire to another of the guardians, but still to no avail.

"Let me try!" Yu added. "PERSONA!" With another pull of the trigger, out came Izanagi, who summoned a bolt of lightning that, like with the others, did nothing, but at least Yu felt as though they were making some progress.

"Keep trying!" Yu suggested as he put the Evoker to his head once more. "ANGEL!" In an instant, Izanagi was changed out for the scantily clad Angel, releasing a wall of wind around the furthest guardian. But again, the attack failed, and it was immediately followed up by a Magaru attack that hit everyone in sight; while Yukari, Yu, and Minato were relatively unscathed, Junpei was sent flying with the full force of the attack until he smacked against the back wall.

"Junpei!" Yu shouted.

Junpei got back up slowly, but he was clearly in quite a bit of pain. "I-I'm fine," he stuttered. "I-It was just a scratch." With one step, he winced in pain, which in turn made Yu wince. Yu felt pity for him before, but now he straight up felt sorry for Junpei.

"What haven't we tried?" Yu asked. "They're strong against elemental attacks, swords are practically useless, and Yukari's bow didn't deal much damage either." After this statement, Yu's eyes widened. "Minato, what else does Orpheus know besides Agi?"

Minato's eyes also widened as he nodded in agreement. He then turned back to the enemy, summoned Orpheus, and sent out a bash attack to one of the guardians; this time, not only did the attack do damage, but it resulted in them having to deal with one less enemy.

"Alright," Yu began. "We've got 'em now!" He then switched back to Izanagi and sent out a Cleave that, while logically shouldn't have dealt much damage considering what happened with Junpei, actually brought down another of the guardians, presumably because of the total damage dealt by the other attacks waged. Finally, Minato summoned Orpheus one last time, dealing a bash attack that, like before, made the Shadow dissolve into nothingness. At last, they were free of any real danger as Yu and Minato collapsed to one knee in exhaustion, while Yukari tended to Junpei's damage through her Dia skills.

"I-Is it over?" Junpei asked.

"The battle is, yeah," Yu replied nonchalantly. He was honestly too tired to say anything else besides the blunt truth considering how many Shadows they'd fended off on their way to this floor.

 _"Great job, everyone,"_ Mitsuru congratulated. _"You all performed much better than I expected. You should probably head back, though."_

"That's probably a good idea," Yu replied. "I don't think we can handle any more fighting today, especially Junpei." This time, however, Junpei just stayed quiet, which was a relief to Yu, who considered Junpei's silence as a sign of agreement. "Speaking of which, is he alright over there, Yukari?"

"For now," she replied. "He'll at least be able to walk back."

"Well, there's the teleporter at the end of the hall," Yu replied as he pointed to the deactivated green machine that matched the one from floors below, "so let's get out of here before the Shadows try attacking us while we're down."

Minato looked to Yu. "You sure you don't want to be the leader?"

Yu smiled. "I guess I wouldn't object if I was offered, but let's worry about that later."

Minato nodded. "Right." After that, the three guys got back to their feet and proceeded down the hall to leave Tartarus for the night, and probably for tomorrow as well considering their current condition.

* * *

 **Well hello again, my readers! You're probably wondering why I've been gone for so long. The short answer is College and my P3 Manga Dub, so there's my feeble excuse. Oh, and my Persona 4 only fanfic is also a culprit, since I decided to update that one as well to see if there's interest, and we'll see if that one gets caught back up again.**

 **And for once, there's no need for a social link update, since this chapter was filled with nothing but action, and I felt that was necessary considering I haven't delivered on the action portion of this fic lately, so consider this an apology for that, but now that means the next chapter may as well be social link heavy.**

 **Anyways, let's move on to the reviews, 'cause there's a LOT to respond to:**

 **Gilgamesh The King of Heroes – You know it! I want to keep this fic interesting for those who know the original story, so, as a fan fic, I was to spice it up with a special something. Hope the surprises keep you on board!**

 **PersonaQeminod1 – I know I responded to you by PM, but yes. As evidenced by this chapter, other Personas will be able to talk to Yu, and I can't wait to see how this work out in the long term!**

 **Marvey4 – The new social links will definitely affect the plot in some way, but I'm not entirely sure how this early on, but it'll be fun to explore! And… maybe Yu is, maybe Yu isn't one of Minato's social links. Maybe I want to keep it a secret. ;)**

 **Lovadren – Hope this chapter was worth the long wait! I was seriously busy for the past month and a half. And you're welcome for the thanks! :)**

 **Sulphur99 – Whoa, man. Put the Persona down! I didn't mean to offend! Regardless, I am well aware of the ramifications for Jin, and I have plenty a plan for his social link with Yu. And that thought about him being a Rise/Kanamin is, well, an interesting thought. I couldn't help but snicker at that thought. Not that that's a bad thing or anything.**

 **SeventhAssasin – Oh, we're not even close to having all of Yu's social links yet. We have, like, another 8 to 13-ish people left (I lost count and don't wanna cross check right now). And, well, there are no crazy twists here today. Sorry. :/**

 **Pecan Crisp – A jerk, you say? Well, that won't stop me from writing, And I'll admit, that line depressed me a little as I wrote it, but I still felt it a little necessary. You know, foreshadowing.**

 **blarg7856 – I'm gonna try to answer your questions quickly. No. Maybe. Not Adachi, but maybe Sho/Kagatsuchi is possible since I recently started getting interested in Persona 4 Arena recently, but we'll see. And for now, I'll say no on Labrys, but I won't rule it out just yet.**

 **Kitanalao – Great to see you still like the fic!**

 **Seta Man (Guest) – Thanks man! I'm trying to, but things are a little hectic on my end.**

 **Just checked and saw that these review responses are seriously bloating my word count, so I'll stop here on the author's note.**

 **Read on!**

 **-rjm324**

 **(Oh, and what do you think about the prospect of a new Persona fanfic with a gender bent Yu? Just curious.)**


	15. A City Full of Social Links

April 26:

"O-Oh, hello Narukami-san," a familiar face stuttered as Yu neared the bookstore early in the morning.

"Hello Fuuka," Yu replied, somewhat surprised by her presence. "Are you doing well?"

Fuuka nodded. "Y-Yeah. I'm good. And you?"

Yu yawned obnoxiously. "I'm a little tired, but I'm hanging in there."

"I see." She looked back to the bookstore for a moment before facing Yu once more. "You said before that you were a transfer student, right?"

Yu nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

"H-Have you adjusted to Iwatodai all right?"

Again, Yu nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I used to live in a city environment before my last school, so it feels a little like returning home."

Fuuka nodded. "That's good."

"Yeah." Yu's mind then wondered back to his life before Inaba. His younger self would certainly still be living in Tokyo, unless that wasn't how things worked right now. But assuming it did, he pondered over what he might be doing at that moment. Considering how popular he was at that point in his life, would he have been hanging out with old pals? And for that matter, did he even remember anyone, especially friends, from back then? He then wondered what Yosuke might be doing, considering the two of them were city boys at heart. Was Yosuke doing the same thing he thought he was doing?

"I-Is something bothering you?" Fuuka asked, which snapped Yu out of his trance. It didn't really matter what his past self was doing; hell, he's supposed to be fighting the Shadows to get that much closer to seeing his friends alive, and part of that had to do with raising his social links, which he was trying to do right now.

His mind clear, Yu nodded in response. "Yeah. I was just thinking."

"I-Is that so?"

"Yeah. About my last school, and how I had to leave my friends there behind."

Fuuka's face turned sad. "Oh. That couldn't have been easy."

Yu shook his head. "It's not. At least for me, it wasn't. We were pretty close."

"I wish I had friends like that."

Yu put his had on Fuuka's shoulder. "You could start with me." Fuuka's face started to flush red. "H-Hold on! What I mean by that is that you could try being friends with me." He retracted his hand. "From my point of view, you look like you could use the company." Yu knew he'd be able to get on her good side considering how capable he was of doing the same with other girls; it was just one of those skills he perfected over time.

"Y-You're right," Fuuka replied, nodding. "I-I think we could become friends." The crashing noise went off in Yu's head once more, which was followed by Yu turning away from Fuuka.

"Sorry," Yu apologized, "but I've gotta get going for now. There's somewhere I've been meaning to go."

"N-No, it's alright. You go on ahead. I should get going anyways."

Yu nodded. "Alright. See you later then, Fuuka."

Fuuka nodded. "Y-Yeah. See you."

* * *

As he neared Port Island Station, Yu began looking around among the crowd.

 **"Hey Yu,"** Izanagi greeted. **"Are you looking for someone?"**

 _"Yes,"_ Yu replied. _"Is that so wrong?"_

 **"No,"** Izanagi replied. **"But I gotta ask: WHO are you looking for?**

 _"Does it matter?"_

 **"You're looking for Hamuko, aren't you?"**

 _"And what gives you that idea?"_

 **"Well, you normally hang out with Minato, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Junpei, and Yukari whenever, and right now, they're either busy or you don't know where they are. You also just talked with that Fuuka girl, and I'm sure you want to have nothing to do with..."**

 _"Alright, you got me. That is who I'm looking for. Happy?!"_

 **"Well, I don't blame you. She is quite pretty."**

"YU!" a voice shouted from within the crowd; Yu turned and saw that a certain girl, sporting a striped sweater and red scarf, was barreling her way to his position.

 **"And speak of the devil. Go get him, champ."**

 _"I swear I'll fuse you away for good if you keep that up."_ Yu sighed, then waved to Hamuko. "Hey! You look like you're doing well!"

As she came to a stop, Hamuko nodded. "Yep. I was actually just passing by when I saw you. Kinda crazy, huh?"

 _More like being in the right place at the right time,_ Yu thought.

"Yeah," Yu replied. "Are you doing anything right now?"

Hamuko shook her head. "No. I'm totally free today. Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? I think you're falling head over heels for me."

Yu shook his head. "I don't sway that easily."

"And I don't give in that easily," she replied perkily.

"You know what, let's just take a walk."

Hamuko nodded. "Ooh, good call."

"But I'm picking the spot this time." Yu then began walking away from the station, with Hamuko following not too far behind. There wasn't really any place in particular that he desired to go, so while he and Hamuko kept walking, Yu decided to start the conversation back up.

"So, how are things going for you?" Yu asked.

"Umm, what kind of lame question is that?" Hamuko asked.

"Just answer the question."

Hamuko pouted. "Well, things are fine, I guess. What about with you?"

Yu yawned again. "Well, if I'm being honest, I feel exhausted."

"Why?"

"I was out fighting during the Dark Hour again." Yu rubbed his temples. "It really takes it out of you."

"Is that so?"

Yu frowned. "Do you think fighting Shadows is a walk in the park?"

"Hmm… Good point. So if you're so tired, why are you hanging out with me?"

"Because I needed a break, both from Shadow slaying and from school."

"Mmm-hmm..." Yu felt he was losing Hamuko's attention.

Yu frowned. "...and you're losing interest right now, aren't you?"

Hamuko nodded guiltily. "Well, what did you expect?"

"Not too much, actually. But you should at least be happy you got to talk to me."

Hamuko's face perked up again. "Oh, for real! I'll make you mine someday."

"You can try, but I'm a tough nut to crack," Yu teased.

Hamuko beamed. "Ooh, you're on!" The crashing noise went off in Yu's head, and the two of them continued talking back and forth as they continued to nowhere in particular.

* * *

April 27:

Yu yawned as he struggled to stay awake during the morning's assembly; sure, from the looks of it, Junpei and Minato were similarly out of it like at the last assembly, but that wasn't really saying much, especially considering that Junpei is a natural born slacker.

"Ugh, what was this assembly for again?" Junpei asked.

"I dunno," Yukari replied before facing Yu. "Do you?"

Yu shook his head. "I don't. Maybe it has something to do with the Apathy Syndrome cases?"

"Who cares?" Junpei said out of agitation. "It ain't like the principal knows about the Shadows anyways, so all we can hope for is that it doesn't drag on."

Yukari scoffed. "I know. His speeches ALWAYS drag."

"Oh, joy," Yu and Minato said in monotone, much to the surprise of Yukari and Junpei.

"We'll now begin this morning's assembly," a teacher announced, cutting off all conversation in the auditorium. "First, our principal has some words he'd like to share with you. Please give him your undivided attention."

"Thank you," the principal thanked as he walked up to the podium. After clearing his throat, he continued. "Today, I'd like to tell you about my, um, vision for this school year. As you should all be aware, strange incidents have been reported on the news lately, and it is of my belief that none of you are involved. However, if we want to better our school, then we all need to accept responsibility for change.

"Dig deep down inside and tap into your imaginations, but don't lose your touch with reality. As they say, 'There's no use crying over spilt milk.' This is the key to reaping all the rewards that school has to offer..."

As the principal continued with his speech, Yu arched his eyebrow in suspicion, as he quickly connected the dots he had regarding the principal's speech.

"Is it just me," Yu began, "or does his speech remind you of Mitsuru-senpai's speech?"

Yukari shook his head. "It's not just you."

"Same here," Junpei replied. "What's up with that?"

"So how much longer until this assembly ends?" Minato asked.

* * *

Once the day's classes concluded, Yu went over to Minato. "Hey," Yu greeted.

Minato looked up. "Oh, hey. What's up?"

"I was just about to head out, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the bookstore." Minato's facial expression didn't change one bit. "C'mon, man. I know it may not seem like your kind of place, but you need to get out a little more."

"...I do."

"Attending kendo practices and mingling with the others at the dorm doesn't count as getting out there."

"And what about you?"

Yu grimaced. "I'm just as guilty, and that's why I'm asking you to tag along."

After a minute or so, Minato finally stood up and nodded. "Sure then. Let's get going." Yu decided not to comment on Minato's lack of enthusiasm, because he figured it would be wasted breath trying to criticize this fact. As a result, their walk to the bookstore, Bookworms, was mostly silent, with Yu only commenting on the weather, which had been surprisingly calm since his arrival. Eventually, they made it to the store and stood up front for a moment before promptly entering the store.

"Oh, welcome!" an old man greeted. "My, we're just bustling with the youngsters today. Are either of you two interested in fresh mackerel?"

Yu looked around. "But isn't this a bookstore?"

The old woman standing close by spoke up. "It is. And as you can see, we don't sell fish here."

The old man continued. "Say, you must be students, aren't you? You go to Gekkoukan High, right?" Both Yu and Minato nodded. "I see. That means you must've seen the persimmon tree there."

Minato blinked as if he didn't know what the old man was referring to. "Persimmon tree?"

The old man jumped back in surprise. "Are you serious?! You don't know about it?"

Minato shook his head. "Afraid not."

The old man continued. "Why, not a day goes by that we don't think about that tree. I'm surprised you haven't seen it. They planted it beside a walkway in a courtyard at the school."

Yu's eyes widened as the old man finished his sentence. Now that he mentioned it, Yu did remember seeing a tree at that small walkway when he "saved" Fuuka from those nasty girls. It was small, and there wasn't anything too spectacular about it. So the question was: what importance did it hold to the old shopkeepers?

"I'm sorry about my husband," the woman apologized. "He's rambling on like an old man. Just ignore him."

"N-No, it's quite alright," Yu responded. "But actually, I do remember seeing a tree like that."

"You do?" Minato and the old man asked, though the old man seemed a little more surprised and happy.

"Yeah. It was plenty big for how young it looked. Its branches were even covered in leaves."

"Now that you mention it," Minato added, "I do remember seeing a tree like that on my way to kendo practice last week."

"Is that so?" the old man asked. "Hold up, you were never going to buy books today, were you? And you're not just pulling my leg about the tree?"

"I have no reason to lie to an old couple like you," Yu replied bluntly.

"Same here," Minato replied.

The man shined in confirmation. "Ho ho, I knew it. From the moment you walked in, I just knew you two were kind young men. You know, I've been meaning to see that old tree for some time now, but I'm never sure if these stumpy old legs would make it that far."

 _Was that a pun?_ Yu thought.

 **"It sounded like it,"** Izanagi replied. Yu looked to Minato, and his facial expression, though faint, gave him the idea that he was thinking the exact same thing.

"Oh, that wasn't meant to be a pun," the old man replied. "But you know what I mean, right?"

The old woman nodded. "That was very clever, dear."

"Yeah," Yu and Minato replied in unison.

"Oh, we've neglected to introduce ourselves. I'm Bunkichi, and this is my wife, Mitsuko. If you wouldn't mind, would you kindly introduce yourselves as well?"

"I'm Yu Narukami," Yu replied.

"Minato Arisato," Minato replied.

"Hmm, I see. Then, we'll call you Yu-chan and Minato-chan from now on!" Yu might've had a problem with being called that, but he'd rather suck it up and not disrespect the elders; it just wasn't his style. Regardless, he felt great satisfaction in telling the old couple about the tree. But still, of what importance was it to them? But before he could ponder this, the crashing noise went off in Yu's head, indicating a new social link as the Hierophant tarot card appeared in his vision.

 **Thou Art I… And I Am Thou… Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Hierophant Arcana.**

As the flow of time continued, Mitsuko spoke up. "We're open every day except on Sundays. Feel free to come visit us if you get bored."

"Oh, and if you see the tree again, bring back one of its leaves, would ya?" Bunkichi asked.

Yu nodded. "Will do. We should get going. Bye for now."

"Yeah, bye," Minato followed. Then, they left the store, but rather than split up, the two of them walked over to the monorail platform, isolating themselves from the strip mall crowd to have a quick chat.

"I have a question," Minato began. "Did you just start a new social link with the old couple?" Minato asked.

"Yeah," Yu replied. "Did you?"

Minato nodded. "Yeah."

"So what do we do about that? Do we just progress it together?"

Minato shrugged. "Maybe?"

"I mean, it's only a suggestion. It just sounds like the quickest way to take care of it, wouldn't you agree?"

Minato nodded. "That's true." The two of them stood quietly for a few moments more before Minato made the decision to head back to the dorm, while Yu decided to walk around for a little while longer. But what else was there for him to really do, though? He could hang out with Hamuko, but there was only so much of her he could handle for one week. He could hang out with some of his dorm mates, but he didn't exactly know where all of them might've been at that point in time. So then who…?

* * *

"Oh, it's you again." This one sentence was enough to pull Yu out of his fantasy and see that it was none other than Jin Shirato who chose to acknowledge him.

 _Dammit, not him again,_ Yu thought. _I was trying to avoid him._

"Tch, just get out of my way," Jin continued.

 _But I can't just let him leave. He's one of my social links, like it or not. It's no different than when I had a social link with Adachi, though I didn't know he had sinister intentions until later. But still..._

"Did you hear me, maggot?" Jin taunted. "I said get the hell out of my way!"

 _But man, is he acting like an asshole. Well, here it goes._

"And where exactly do you need to go that's so important?" Yu asked boldly.

"What I do is none of your concern. Now move, dammit!"

 _I'm losing him. What can I do to grab his attention?_ Yu sighed, then spoke again. "Are you hungry?" _Hungry? This isn't Inaba. Why the hell would he…_

Yu looked to Jin, whose face told him he was just as confused as he was. "W-What the hell are you talking about?"

 _Wait, he reacted to that. Keep going._ "You heard what I said. Do you want to grab a bite to eat? Surely where you need to go to can wait, if you're going somewhere at all."

By now, the shock wore off and Jin regained his composure. "W-What makes you think I'd…"

"I know you've got nowhere to be. Why not just relax?" Yu didn't know if his bluff would work or not. However, Jin was the Hermit, so unless he planned to meet back up with his buddies from before, he was surely alone and without plans. And with a little luck...

"S-Sure. Whatever. Where did you have in mind?"

 _T-That worked? I don't know why it did, but I can't stop now._ "Just follow me." Since they weren't too far from the strip mall, Jin followed Yu to Wild Duck Burger, where Yu ordered the two of them burgers and fries. While they ate, Yu tried reading Jin a little from his composure and facial expressions. Yu knew Jin didn't like him, and Yu felt the same, but here, in this restaurant, Jin seemed to have lost his asshole demeanor in favor of a… more relaxed one. Score one for Yu.

"So what gives?" Jin demanded. "Why did you invite me here?"

Yu shrugged. "I feel a little generous today."

Jin was unamused. "I'm serious. I could give a shit less about you, and Takaya would feel the same way, too. So, what's your major malfunction?"

 _Damn,_ Yu swore to himself. _He's trying to piss me off. At least I know how to combat people like this._ "Alright, here's the deal: you don't like me, and I don't like you. I just want to try and make peace with you."

Jin laughed. "What a joke. You? Make peace with me? That's rich!"

"And yet here you are, sitting with me in a place like this, having lunch."

Jun grunted. "I'm only trying to lull you into a false sense of security!"

"Gee, thanks for telling me your plan." Yu smiled in triumph as he saw Jin try to come up with a new comeback off the top of his head. He knew he was good at conversing with others, but doing something like this? That's a new one, and would definitely come in handy later, whether here or in Inaba. Shortly after finishing this thought, the crashing noise went off in Yu's head, indicating that phase one of his master plan for Jin was complete; at least next time, he'll have a much easier time talking to Jin.

Speaking of which, Jin stood up, having finished his food. "I'm leaving. See you never." Jin then walked away as Yu finished up his food, happier then than he was when he first ran into Jin. _I'll crack him. I just know it._

* * *

April 29:

"Hey Yu!" Akihiko greeted as Yu walked out the front door of the school.

Yu waved. "Hey Akihiko. Still healing up alright?"

Akihiko nodded. "You know it. It won't be much longer until I'm able to get back in action."

"That's great."

"Say, have you seen that girl from the day before?"

Yu's expression darkened. "Don't even start."

"I'm just kidding." Akihiko then smirked. "But you two do make a cute couple when she's dragging you along."

Yu's face heated up. "Y-You saw that?!"

"Ha ha. Don't worry, it wasn't too bad."

"That's easy for you to say. The girls only swoon over you." Yu covered his face with his hand, sighing before returning his gaze to Akihiko."You know what, how about we just walk back to the dorm? You can't really do anything besides just eat or stand out here, and I know you don't want to just stand around doing nothing."

Akihiko nodded promptly. "Good point. Let's do that, then." Before they even got out the front gate, a couple of girls ran up to Akihiko, and from the look that Yu saw on Akihiko's face, he wasn't too happy to see them.

"Senpai!" one of the girls exclaimed. "What a coincidence running into you here!"

"Were you fixing to leave?" the second girl asked. "Do you want to go somewhere with us?"

"Uhh..." Akihiko droned quietly. Yu knew that, true to his word before, Akihiko had no real idea how to talk to them. Nevertheless, Akihiko continued. "Maybe some other time. I'm trying to hang out with my friend here." Akihiko then pointed Yu out, whom the girls looked at for a split second before facing Akihiko again.

"Who, this guy?" the first girl asked. "He doesn't look like he deserves to hang out with you."

"Yeah!" the second girl exclaimed. "You gotta hang out with us today, senpai!"

Now a faint vein began popping out of Akihiko's forehead. "I said maybe some other time." He made his way past the girls with ease. "Let's get going, Yu."

Yu nodded and started walking as well. "Right behind you." As they walked, Yu couldn't help but look back at the girls, whose glares suggested they were not too happy having let Akihiko escape their grasps; sure, Hamuko is obsessive too, but those two were a little too much.

"Hey," Akihiko began, "sorry about that."

Yu shook his head. "It's alright. Still though, what's their problem? Don't they understand the concept of personal space?"

Akihiko laughed. "I appreciate the concern, but don't worry about it that much. It's not like I can't shake them."

"So you're not even a little mad?"

Akihiko shrugged. "I am a little mad, but it's not worth griping about. You just gotta learn how to deal with it." Having seen and admired a new side of Akihiko, the crashing noise went off in Yu's head.

"By the way, are you free on Friday?" Akihiko asked.

Yu nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

* * *

 **Happy fifteenth chapter, everyone! And with that, we have finally completed the month of April. Hopefully, though, it won't take fifteen chapters to knock out every month, because we'd have about 150 chapters by the end (not that you'd oppose that) if that happened. By the way, in between these last two chapters, I went ahead and rewrote and edited the first fourteen chapters to beef up the content quality, so if you find yourselves bored while waiting for chapter sixteen, maybe reread the story to see what all has changed (and definitely PM me if you find any mistakes, because I'm sure I still missed a few grammatical errors despite how thorough I was.**

 **Anyways, social link review, go!**

 **Fuuka (Priestess) – Rank 2**

 **Hamuko (Hanged Man) – Rank 2**

 **Bunkichi & Mitsuko (Hierophant) – New**

 **Jin (Hermit) – Rank 2**

 **Akihiko (Emperor) – Rank 3**

 **And now for the reviews:**

 **Lovadren – I can't forget Akihiko. Just, you know, he couldn't be in Tartarus last chapter.**

 **PersonaQeminod1 – Ooh, that would be sadistically funny if I did that. And were you seriously concerned I wouldn't include our favorite fluffy Persona user? That would be heresy if I forgot!**

 **SeventhAssasin – Thanks for wishing me thanks! Things are actually working pretty well for me. And don't worry, the twists will come, and hopefully of high caliber, too.**

 **Fluorica – You'd be surprised at how much one review can save a story of mine.**

 **Uchu no akuma no kami – Alright, I didn't know what to think of this when I first read it, but maybe I do now. Regardless of why it's here, well played at giving me a good laugh. Hats off to you!**

 **Sulphur99 – I'm glad you enjoy the action scenes. I just felt not making them OP was the way to go. And I also don't have much else to say. Can't wait to read your next review!**

 **Seta Man (guest) – Thanks so much again! By the way, I'm working on the gender bent idea now as a prototype, so give it a read if it does get released. Just look for the user name rjm324.**

 **Tjfanfics99 – Glad you love it. I always hope that I bring joy to people with the fics I write. And thanks as well that you enjoy the social links! The Jin scenes especially are gonna be fun for me to write!**

 **And seriously, if one of y'all want to make story art for my fic if you have the artistic know how, let me know. That'd be seriously cool to have and, well, I have no artistic talent besides my writing. Just saying.**

 **Anyways, thanks as always for reading, and read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	16. Checkups and Drama

May 1:

"The class roster for 2-E?" Junpei asked Yu. "Why would he ask you for that?"

Yu shrugged. "I dunno. He just asked me to get it and bring it to him at his checkup."

"Well, regardless of why he wants it," Yukari began, "I'll tag along since I don't have practice today." She then looked to Minato expectantly. "You're coming too, right?"

Minato shrugged. "Maybe," he replied quietly. "That is, if he wants us to come along."

Yu nodded. "Yeah. I don't have a problem with that."

Junpei scratched his head. "B-But why?" he asked Yu. "It's just a checkup, so you don't really need to bring visitors."

"You don't have to come with me," Yu replied, "so why do you care?"

Junpei looked to the wall, then shook his head. "I don't."

Yu nodded. "Alright, then we'll be going." Yu, Minato, and Yukari then walked out the classroom door.

* * *

As the three of them entered Akihiko's room, the first thing Yu noticed was that someone else was here as well; he just didn't expect it to be the man who saved him and Hamuko the week before, even wearing the same distinct maroon pea coat and beanie. Besides him, Yu, and the others, the room was devoid of all life.

"Umm, is Akihiko-senpai here by any chance?" Yu asked. The man looked up, but continued to remain silent as seconds passed by like minutes. Yu looked to Minato, then to Yukari, then back to the man.

"What are all of you doing here?" Akihiko asked as he walked into the room.

Yu, Minato, and Yukari turned around to face him, with Yu taking note of Akihiko's perplexed expression on his face. "They insisted on tagging along, so I let them," Yu replied.

"I'm just here for a checkup," Akihiko replied.

"We know," Yukari added.

The man stood up. "Is that it, Aki?" he asked.

Akihiko nodded. "Yeah, thanks." Yu looked back to the man, who was walking towards them, likely to leave the room.

The man scoffed as he walked. "I don't have time for this shit," he added. Yu, Minato, and Yukari moved out of his way, but before he left, he looked at Yu, a menacing expression plastered on his face.

"You..." he began.

"What about me?" Yu asked.

The man shook his head. "Never mind." He then continued his walk out of the room, disappearing from sight in under a minute. The group then looked back to Akihiko.

"Mind if I ask who that is?" Yu asked.

"He's a friend from school, sorta," Akihiko replied. "You know how the number of Apathy Syndrome cases have been increasing lately?" Yu nodded. "Well, he knows a few people suffering from it, so I asked him about them." Akihiko then looked out the door again. Yu could tell there was something else about those two, like they had a history together, but he decided to keep that comment to himself, at least for the time being.

Akihiko returned his gaze to Yu. "Did you bring what I asked, Yu?" he asked.

Yu's eyes seemingly twinkled as he nodded in confirmation. "Oh, yeah I did." As he reached for the roster, Akihiko began swinging his arm around, much to the chagrin of Yu and the rest.

"Uh, I don't think you should be moving your arm, senpai," Yukari commented.

Akihiko scoffed. "Oh, this is nothing. I've wasted too much time already." He then smirks. "I need to get back to my training."

"Wow," Yu replied in awe. "You're really dedicated, aren't you?"

Akihiko nodded confidently. "You know it!"

Yukari was next to speak. "By the way senpai, why boxing?"

Akihiko tilted his head slightly. "You mean why did I chose it?" Yukari nodded. "Well, it's not the sport in particular that I like. I just wanted to learn how to fight." His expression then grew darker. "I know how it feels to be powerless, and I don't want to feel that way again." This still made Yu curious as to what he was referring to, but before he could ponder it further, he was left surprised once again at Akihiko's extreme and sudden mood change.

"Besides," Akihiko continued with a smirk, "I'm curious as to how strong I can get. It's just like a game, except I'm competing with myself."

Yu scratched his head. "Well, that's an interesting way of putting it, I'll give you that."

"Well, if we're done here," Minato began, "I'm gonna go ahead and head home." Before anyone had a chance to respond, Minato, in no time at all, made his way to the door and out of the room, disappearing from sight even quicker than the man from earlier.

"Alright," Yu started as he handed Akihiko the roster, "if that's all you needed, then I'm gonna head out as well."

"I'll come too," Yukari responded.

Yu nodded. "Alright. Then let's go."

* * *

As they walked, Yu began thinking of something of interest to talk with Yukari about; at the very least, he didn't want to say anything that might freak her out or break the timeline in any way. Although, all things considered, that was probably the least of his worries. Still though, he usually has the right tool for the job, so the fact he didn't now speaks for itself.

"So..." Yu began uncomfortably, "you seem to have the hang of combat by now."

Yukari looked to Yu. "Hmm?" she asked. "Oh. Yeah, but you should know that, shouldn't you?"

Yu's expression darkened. "Oh, yeah." He then looked back to the line of buildings to his right. "Sorry. I'm still a little distracted, I guess."

"About your last school?" Yu looked down, as he began to feel depressed again. "O-Oh, sorry. I guess that's still a sore topic."

Yu looked back to Yukari and shook his head. "No, you're fine. But… it is, I'm not gonna lie." His expression then brightened up in record time. "But enough about me. Let's hear something about you for a change."

Yukari scratched the back of her head. "About what? There really isn't much for me to say, is there?"

"How about your dad?" Now Yukari's expression grew dark as she looked at her feet. "I mean, I don't mean to be rude, but tell me about what you remember about him." Yukari tilted her head up, but still refused to speak a word. "And if you don't want to say anything, then that's fine, too. I was just wondering."

This time, Yukari nodded. "W-Well, I only knew him up till ten years ago, but I remember him being very caring and kind to me and my mom. But other than that..."

Yu spoke up in Yukari's silence. "You don't have to say anything else. It sounds like he was a good man."

"But then after he died, my mom started dating other men." This time, Yukari's voice grew a little colder than before. "I mean, I could care less now, but sometimes I wish she would pay more attention to me. No one would be able to understand what I've been through." She went on this tirade for a few minutes more, which made Yu worry more about Yukari every minute that passed.

But before he could speak up, she must've realized he was about to speak up, since she looked to him and said, "Oh, sorry. Guess I got a little carried away."

Yu shook his head. "Don't be sorry." He then looked to the sky. "Although, it does sound like you've had it rough."

Yukari nodded. "Well, yeah. I'm sorry if I've made you worry."

Again Yu shook his head. "No, it's fine. If you're willing to tell me that, even inadvertently, that's a sign you're starting to trust me more, even if a little bit. So thanks for that."

Yukari blushed a little. "T-Thanks." The crashing noise went off in Yu's head, indicating a social link rank up. With the atmosphere a little heavy, Yu decided to stay quiet the rest of the way back to the dorm.

* * *

Yu didn't feel like going out to fight in Tartarus that night (and neither did the rest of SEES), so he decided to plop on his bed and lay there for no apparent reason.

 **"What's wrong, Yu?"** Izanagi asked as he materialized on Yu's bed.

"Nothing, really," Yu replied. "I just feel a little tired."

 **"Don't lie. You're a little down by what Yukari told you earlier, aren't you?"**

Yu sighed. "Sometimes, I wish you weren't so observant."

 **"Sorry."**

Yu shook his head. "But you're not wrong. It does makes me worry about her."

Izanagi nodded. **"I understand."**

 **"I think it's kinda sweet,"** Pixie added as she fluttered onto Yu's shoulder.

"Of course you would say that."

 **"You aren't saying that because she's a girl, are you?"** Angel asked as she floated in the air.

Yu shook his head. "No, of course not."

Angel nodded in approval. **"Good."**

"Shouldn't all of you know I'm not sexist?"

 **"I can attest to that,"** Izanagi backed up.

"Thank you, Izzy."

 **"Well, if I say it's sweet that you care about Yukari, would that seem expected of me?"** Angel asked.

"Yeah, but it's for a completely different reason."

 **"Oh? And what reason would that be?"**

"It seems more… natural coming out of you. Kind of like a motherly figure."

Angel blinked blankly. **"Well, thank you for that complement."**

 **"Wait, why does she get complimented like that but I get ridiculed?"**

"I-I didn't mean it that way!"

 **"I'm starting to question whether you're really sexist or not."**

"Okay, first of all, I'm not sexist. Secondly, you would know about it. And third, if I were, that would make you part sexist too. How would you feel about yourself then?"

 **"..."** Pixie remained quiet from that point on.

 **"Don't worry, Yu,"** Angel reassured. **"I know you're not."**

"Well, I didn't need reassurance," Yu began as he nodded in agreement, "but that's why I like you. Besides your whole getup, that is."

Angel nodded. **"Thank you for your sympathy."**

Yu chuckled. "It's kinda weird how I'm talking to all of you like good friends. If I did that in public, I'd be locked up in a loony bin for sure."

 **"Probably,"** Izanagi agreed. Yu continued engaging in small talk like this for a while, but after a while, he began to grow bored. Finally, a thought blazed through his head, which resulted in him getting up out of bed, slipping his shoes on, and heading straight for the door.

 **"H-Hey!"** Izanagi stuttered. **"Where are we going?"**

"Relax, Izzy," Yu reassured. "I'm not gonna do anything reckless." He then exited his room, went down the stairs, and out the front door; once outside, he started walking down the path that would lead him to the Moonlight Bridge.

 **"Uhh, I have a bad feeling about this,"** Izanagi reiterated.

"I already said there's nothing to worry about," Yu reassured once more. "C'mon, can't you read my thoughts and tell that?"

Izanagi went quiet for a minute, then replied, **"Well, I still think THAT'S a bad idea!"**

"Quit being a baby! For being a part of me, you sure are finicky tonight."

 **"Remember the last time we went there?"**

Yu sighed. "Yeah, I remember. I'm surprised you remember that, given how I acted."

 **"Well if I can remember stuff like the existence of Marie, then surely I would know that of all things!"**

Yu stopped in his tracks after arriving at Paulownia Mall. "Well, we're here." He and Izanagi looked up at what the sign in front of them read: Club Escapade.

 **"You sure about this?"**

Yu nodded. "Yep." He then walked up to the front door, opened it, and took note of what the inside held: bright, multicolored lights, throngs of patrons, a half dozen tables, a stage fitted with a DJ booth, a bar, and an ever familiar second floor.

 _"See?"_ Yu remarked to Izanagi. _"It's not so bad."_

 **"Yeah, so far."**

 _"You need to relax."_ Yu then decided to walk up to a neatly dressed man by the bar, whom he assumed to be one of the workers.

"Excuse me!" Yu shouted to the man.

The man looked to Yu. "You shouldn't be here," he replied, slightly worriedly. "Now beat it, kid."

Yu tilted his head. "I'm not doing anything wrong, am I?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Surely a student or two has wandered in here, so what makes me so different?"

The worker frowned. "That may be, but..."

"You know what, it doesn't matter. I'm not really here to party. I came to see if you were looking for part-time help."

The worker shook his head. "We don't hire students, even if we wanted to."

"Really? That's too bad. With how crowded this place looks, I figured otherwise." He then looked to the dance floor. "And where there's people, I'd be willing to bet there'll be plenty of drink orders." He looked back at the man. "So here's the deal: I'd like some part time work, no matter the task. Hell, you could make me a dish washer. It doesn't matter to me."

 **"Uh, Yu,"** Izanagi began, **"I know you're good with people, but I don't think you can..."** The man then bursted out laughing, much to the confusion of Yu and Izanagi. What did he think was so funny?

"You've got some guts saying that to me," he began, "but I'll tell you what: as you noticed, this place is a bit busier than usual, which DOES likely means more orders." The worker smirked, somewhat sinisterly. "I'll let you take their orders, and only if you finish will I consider paying you."

"Are you serious?" Yu asked, unconvinced.

"Ordinarily I'd say no, but what the hell? It'll be entertaining seeing a spunky kid like you attempt to pull it off."

Yu then grinned. "Well, guess I'll have to prove you wrong."

The man chuckled again. "Good luck, kid." For the next hour, Yu dashed around the club, taking order after order while also taking away empty glasses back to the dishwasher; while he did this, Yu couldn't help but notice the man snicker every time he passed by.

 _Laugh it up,_ Yu thought. _It takes a lot more than that to break me._

 **"Well, you're determined, I'll give you that,"** Izanagi complemented.

 _"Thanks,"_ Yu replied. After about two hours, the flood of customers turned into a trickle, so Yu sat down on a stool at the bar for a break.

"I'm impressed," the man complemented Yu, nodding in amazement. "I have to admit, I expected you to cut your losses halfway through, but you handled those customers like it was your job."

Yu sighs. "I told ya: I wanted to prove you wrong, and it seems like I did." He then looks at the man. "So will I get paid?"

The man sighed. "I guess I can't say no. Finish off the night and you'll get your pay. And just because I'm nice, I'll allow you to come and work every other Saturday if you want."

"You're too kind to me," Yu replied, panting. "Now leave me alone."

"Just don't slack off."

"I'll keep that in mind." The man then walked away, leaving Yu with his thoughts. He's dealt with people like him before, but it doesn't mean they're any more tolerable.

 **"Well, I guess I should apologize,"** Izanagi said.

 _"There's no need,"_ Yu replied back.

"Aren't you a little young to be here?" a man asked from behind. Yu turned around to face him; he didn't know whether or not to take the man seriously, considering he sported an afro, but to Yu, it didn't actually matter. He asked a question, so Yu answered.

"I guess," Yu replied, "but the workers here don't seem to care."

The man shrugged. "Whatever." He then took a seat next to Yu, ordered a drink, and looked at his hands as he waited.

"You here alone?" Yu asked the man.

The man looked to Yu. "What does it matter?"

Yu shrugged. "It doesn't. I'm just curious."

"Why?"

"Just answer the question," Yu demanded bluntly.

The man nodded. "Yeah, I'm alone. What of it?"

"No reason."

The man scratched his head. "You're a weird kid, you know that?"

Yu nodded. "Yeah, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

The man nodded. "I see. You sound like you have a lot of confidence in your life."

Yu scratched his head. "Gee, philosophical much?"

The man chuckled. "I guess. I just have a lot of shit I'm going through."

Yu winced. "You make it sound like it's hell with you."

"Nah, it's just a little… complicated. I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"..." Yu went silent, not sure what to think about the man. Out of everyone in the club, Yu felt particularly interested in the man, whether he should be or not. But then again, a lot of people back in Inaba could be classified like that, especially with the social links he formed.

Speaking of, the crashing noise went off in Yu's head, and the Tower tarot card appeared in his vision.

 **Thou Art I… And I Am Thou… Thou hast established a new bond… Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Tower Arcana.**

Yu stood up and stretched his limbs. "Well, it was nice talking to you, but I have a job I need to get back to."

"You mean you work here?"

"Well, part-time."

The man shrugged. "Alright. I'll leave you to it, then."

Yu nodded. "See you later, then." The man said nothing in response as he turned his attention to his recently-arrived drink; Yu just returned to work for the next hour before receiving his pay and returning to the dorm, where he passed out on his bed almost immediately.

* * *

 **Wow, I can't believe how, umm, different this chapter is from the others. If ever I could label a chapter as a true filler, then this one would be it. Not to say that it's bad, of course, but it's definitely unlike the others; or maybe I'm just being too harsh to even my own writing, so I'll just shut up with my self-loathing.**

 **Anyways, time for the social link review…**

 **Yukari (Lovers) – Rank 2**

 **Unknown Man (Tower) – New**

 **...and the reviews:**

 **Sulphur99 – Yeah, I really have nothing else to say except for thanks for the review!**

 **Seta Man (guest)– Well, if you haven't noticed, I have uploaded that story as a prototype! If you haven't seen it yet, it's called Persona 4: Time Twisted.**

 **Aira Aura – Yeah, I responded to this already. Moving on…**

 **SeventhAssasin – Somehow good? That's good, I guess.**

 **Lovadren – Thanks! Just don't worry if Akihiko goes missing in another chapter. At least until after the Priestess Arcana Shadow boss, in which case go into FULL PANIC MODE!***

 ***Just kidding! Don't do that! ;)**

 **And with that, I have some tests I have to go study for for next week, so see y'all until next time! And check out Persona 4: Time Twisted if you get bored with the wait!**

 **Read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	17. Golden Days

May 2:

 _"Dude, where are you right now?"_ Junpei asked Yu over the phone.

"I just left the school grounds," Yu replied. "Why?"

 _"Arisato-san is with a girl at Paulownia Mall,"_ Junpei replied hurriedly.

Yu sighed. "You make it sound like such a big deal."

 _"Yeah, well… How do I put this? She doesn't look like any normal girl. She's dressed in a blue getup like nothing I've ever seen before!"_

 _"_ Blue?" Yu's eyes widened. "Does she also happen to have gray hair?"

 _"Huh? Now that you mention it, she does. Why?"_

Yu nodded in confirmation. "I'll meet you there." He closed his phone, then sprinted in the direction of the mall; he had a good feeling as to who Minato was with, but he had to see it with his own eyes. After a few minutes or so, Yu arrived in front of the Mall, and a few seconds after that, spotted Junpei peeking from the arcade; curious, Yu walked over to Junpei, whom waved to Yu once he realized he arrived.

"You're here!" Junpei greeted.

Yu stopped to Junpei's left. "Where's Minato?"

Junpei pointed to Club Escapade. "Over there." Yu looked and, as expected, he saw Minato side by side with an unfamiliar resident of the Velvet Room. Although dressed in a similar velvet outfit, she instead sported straight gray hair along with a velvet colored hat and gloves.

"You know her?" Junpei asked.

Yu shook his head. "Nope. But she does look… familiar."

"How so?" He smirked. "You don't see a babe like that every day."

"I'm not sure," Yu lied, shaking his head.

"But man, why does he have so much more than the rest of us?"

Yu looked to Junpei. "Is someone jealous?"

Junpei scuffed as he balled up his fists. "No, I'm glad for him. He can only change Personas, hangs out with women like that, and has the role of leader. What do I have to be jealous about!?"

Yu put his hand on Junpei's shoulder. "Hey! Calm the hell down, would ya? We wouldn't want you to fall to pieces in the heat of battle, would we?"

Junpei released his hands and nodded. "Y-Yeah. Still though..."

"Don't worry. I know how you feel, but you don't see me raging." Yu went silent for a moment. "Just let it go for now."

Junpei then looked to Yu and smiled. "Thanks man. You sure know how to calm people down."

"I have my methods." The crashing noise went off in Yu's head, then looked back to Minato and the woman, and when he did, his eyes widened. "Whoa, Junpei. Am I seeing this right?"

Junpei looked, then nodded. "I-I think so. B-But is she really..."

"… pouring all that money into the fountain?" Yu finished.

* * *

"HYAAA!" Yu bellowed as he slashed away at the final Shadow standing between the group and the next stairway; much like the first sets of enemies they encountered, that one slash was enough to dispatch the enemy without any issues.

"You're getting really good at that," Junpei remarked.

Yu nodded. "Thanks. Well then, shall we get going?" Yu was the first to start climbing the stairs, followed by Minato, then Junpei, and finally Yukari.

"Things are getting a little too easy, don't you think?" Yu asked Minato.

Minato nodded. "Yeah. I know what you mean. Besides those guardians, at least."

"Even then, they're not much of a threat when we know their weaknesses."

"So you finally start seeing things my way?" Junpei shouts.

"I don't mind fighting them; you always seem to forget that." The small group of four remained silent until reaching the next floor mere minutes later, which felt and sounded surprisingly quiet. This was supposed to be a guardian's floor, right?

 _"That's weird,"_ Mitsuru noted. _"The layout of that floor indicates a guardian should be nearby, but I don't sense anything here or on the next few floors."_

"W-Wha?" Junpei stuttered. "How the hell do you lose track of a guardian?"

 _"I'd like to see you do better, Iori."_

"Hold on, you guys!" Yu interrupted. "There's no need to fight over this." Yu then walked forward, katana in hand, ready for any hidden threats that may lurk ahead.

"H-Hey! Wait up!" Junpei blurted out as he and the rest ran to Yu's side. They continued to inch further, and no one, not even Mitsuru, said anything as the uninterrupted, ambient sounds of Tartarus echoed throughout the hall. Was there even anything waiting for them at the end of the hall?

They then made it to the other end of the hall, abandoned chests and stairs in all, but no guardian was there waiting for them.

"What the hell?" Junpei asked. "And here I thought we were about to have more fun!"

Yukari scuffed. "Could you at least TRY to take this seriously?"

Junpei twitched. "I am!"

Yu scratched his head. "It doesn't make much sense, that's for sure." His eyes then widened. "Hold on. Remember all the way back on floor two when we were cornered by that powerful Shadow?"

Minato tilted his head. "Where are you going with that?"

"I thought it was weird that we ran into something THAT strong that early on, but then it hit me: maybe it was this floor's guardian."

"W-Wha? Do you have any proof?" Junpei asked.

Yu shook his head. "Nothing concrete. However, don't you all think it was weird that the guardians we faced before were much weaker than that particular enemy?"

Yukari scratched her head. "Now that you mention it..."

 _"That's certainly a possibility,"_ Mitsuru chirped in, _"but I would suggest you all get moving. Standing around won't do us any good."_

Yu nodded. "She's right. There's no telling what could be heading our way."

Minato also nodded. "Yeah. Up the stairs we go."

* * *

The group of four stood in front of the barrier that stands between them and the next floor. They've made it to the furthest point that they can go.

 _"Great work, everyone,"_ Mitsuru congratulated. _"Return to the entrance."_

"Right." the four replied. Yukari and Junpei headed straight for the teleporter, while Yu, who began walking in the same direction, took notice of a scrap of paper laying on the ground near the barrier and stopped; he couldn't help but stare at it and wonder how and why it got there.

"Hey, are you two coming?" Junpei asked, snapping Yu out of his trance.

Yu nodded. "In a little bit," he replied. "I need to talk with Minato for a minute."

"Alright," Yukari replied. "We'll see you later, then."

Minato waved his hand. "See you." Yukari and Junpei then disappeared in a shimmer of green light. As they vanished from sight, Yu walked over to the barrier, picked up the paper, and unfolded it, and discovered what it read:

 _The electricity's hooked up. But why do they need so much? There's only a school on this island…_

"What's up?" Minato asked.

Yu turned to him, handing over the paper. "I found this. I think it may be important." Minato grabbed the paper and read it over; although Yu wasn't able to gauge much from Minato's expression, the fact that he read it for over a minute indicated that Minato was at least a little interested in it.

Finally, Minato looked up and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure what to make of it. Do you mind if I hold onto it?"

Yu shook his head. "Go ahead. I also think we should keep this between us until we learn more about it."

Minato nodded. "Yeah. I agree."

Yu turned around to the teleporter, ready to head back to the dorm for the night. "Shall we head back?" Minato nodded in agreement, and the two teleported out, their current goal in Tartarus reached.

* * *

May 3:

"Hey, are you alright?" Hamuko asked Yu, who was staring at the sky while they stood in front of Port Island Station.

Yu looked back down to Hamuko and nodded. "Yeah."

Hamuko tilted her head. "Is something the matter?"

Yu shook his head. "No. I've just been a bit distracted lately."

Hamuko's half-hearted smile melted into a frown. "You sure?"

"Why do you care so much?"

Hamuko shrugged. "Well, this is the first time I've seen you down like this." She then grimaced. "You can talk to me if something's wrong."

Yu looked at Hamuko with a funny look on his face. "Alright, who are you, and what have you done with Hamuko?"

She giggled. "What're you talking about? I'm right here, silly!"

Yu shook his head. "No, I know you're here. It's just… you're acting a little too sincere."

Hamuko frowned in an instant. "Well, I'm not just another pretty face! After what you've told me before, I do care about your well being!" Yu then began walking once more, with Hamuko not too far behind and unhappy with Yu. However, despite how it appeared, Yu wasn't actually upset with Hamuko's sudden attitude change; in fact, he was relieved she didn't always act like a hyper active airhead. It was quite refreshing to Yu. They continued walking until they came across Paulownia Mall, and it's at that time that Hamuko speaks up.

"Wanna go sing karaoke?" she asked.

Yu scratched the back of his head. "I dunno… I don't really like singing."

"Aww, c'mon! You need to let loose!" Yu remained silent. "Didn't you say you made as much progress as you could fighting in the Dark Hour?"

"Well, yeah. But that doesn't mean..."

"Well that means you need to loosen up, mister! C'mon!" Before Yu could attempt an escape, Hamuko latched onto his arm, dragging him along to the karaoke bar against his will… or at least, partially against his will; Yu agreed that he needed to keep his mind off of the stress he puts himself through, but not necessarily with Hamuko. Regardless, Yu relented, and for the next hour participated in several rounds of karaoke, with or without Hamuko depending on when she took breaks. He hesitated to admit it, but he had fun, despite how much strain he put on his voice attempting to impress Hamuko.

"WHOOO!" Hamuko wooed, still bubbling with energy. Yu wondered how she wasn't exhausted by then, but he considered it fruitless to dwell on it, so he let it go. Hamuko then looked back at Yu. "That was fun, wasn't it!?"

Yu shrugged. "It wasn't boring, at least," Yu replied.

Hamuko bumped shoulders with Yu. "C'mon! Stop being so serious!"

"I'm not." Yu began feeling suffocated by Hamuko's overzealous nature. "C-Could you please back up?"

Hamuko nodded, adding distance between them.

Yu sighed. "Thank you."

Hamuko giggled. "No problem!" The crashing noise went off in Yu's head. "Well, I'm gonna get going. And remember: I'm always available to talk if things get harsh."

Yu smiled softly. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." And with that, the two of them parted ways for the day, the first day of Golden Week.

* * *

May 4:

"Oh, you came back!" Bunkichi greets Yu and Minato. "Welcome, umm… What were your names again?"

Minato rolled his eyes. "Have you forgotten about us already?"

Bunkichi laughed hardily. "I'm just joking! I remember you two just fine."

 _So he'll always be like this,_ Yu thought.

"Actually, my wife and I were just talking about you two."

"Really?" Yu asked.

"Oh, do either of you like melon breads?" Bunkichi followed up, seemingly ignoring Yu's question. Both Yu and Minato nod. "Someone gave some to me, but I have more than enough." He then held out pieces of said bread. "Go ahead, take one." Yu and Minato accepted Bunkichi's offer without hesitation, so as to not seem disrespectful.

While Minato stayed silent, Yu replied, "Thanks."

Again, Bunkichi laughed. "Don't worry about it; it's just a melon bread, so there's no need to thank me." After a minute, he spoke again. "Say, do you want to take some more for a friend or two? It'll take us forever to finish it up anyways."

Yu shook his head. "No thanks. We're good."

Bunkichi's face dimmed a little. "Oh. Alright, umm… What was your name again?"

Yu and Minato looked at each other unamused before Mitsuko spoke up. "This is Yu-chan and Minato-chan." She then looked to the two high schoolers. "I'm sorry. He's been terribly forgetful lately."

Yu nodded. "I understand. It happens to all of us."

Mitsuko nodded. "I'm glad you understand."

"Say, where did he run off to, dear?" Bunkichi asked, while Yu and Minato tilted their heads in confusion. "He should be here helping customers… I'm sorry."

"'He?'" Yu and Minato asked.

Bunkichi continued as if he didn't hear the two. "I'm sure he'd rather be 'hanging out' with his friends than taking care of an old man like me."

 _Who could he be talking about?_ Yu thought. _We didn't run into anyone before walking in._ Yu looked to Minato, who shrugged his shoulders as if he could telepathically understand what Yu was thinking; then, they both look back to the elderly couple.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon. Right, dear?" Bunkichi asked Mitsuko.

Mitsuko's face grew very dark. "Must you, dear…?"

Her voice sounded so sad to Yu, he once again asked, "Who's 'he'?"

"Oh, that's right," Bunkichi replied. "Our son is deceased..." He then looked back to Yu and Minato. "My apologies, you two. I hope I'm not making you feel uncomfortable."

Again, Yu shook his head. "No, it's quite alright." The crashing noise went off in Yu's head, and he assumed Minato was the same way.

"W-Well, I think we should get going," Yu explained to Bunkichi. "It was nice seeing you again, right Minato?"

Minato nodded. "Yeah."

Bunkichi nodded. "It was nice seeing you two also. And please, come again when you get the time." Yu and Minato nodded, then left the bookstore.

Yu then looked to Minato. "Well, do you have any other plans for today? It is getting a little late."

Minato shook his head. "Not really. I guess we should head back to the dorm."

Yu nodded. "Yeah, I think so too. Let's go then."

* * *

 **Wow, it's been too long since the last chapter, and again, I can't apologize enough for that; I had all the time for the past few weeks to write, but I was relaxing in order to recover from my first semester of college, and my next one starts next week, so there'll be even less time for me to write yet again. But hey, maybe I'm apologizing for nothing, since this seems like a common excuse with a lot of authors on this site.**

 **Well, time for the social link review:**

 **Junpei (Magician) – Rank 4**

 **Hamuko (Hanged Man) – Rank 3**

 **Bunkichi & Mitsuko (Hierophant) – Rank 2**

 **And now, the reviews:**

 **PersonaQeminod1 – Not this chapter nor next chapter; Yu still needs his sanity for at least that long.**

 **ArcticGlaciologist – I'm flattered you think I pull this concept off successfully. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **SeventhAssassin – No such luck in terms of action this chapter, but the next one should be to your liking, I hope.**

 **Marvey4 – We'll see how the Personas go from here, but yeah, it should get good. And yes, that was Vincent, and thanks for pointing out that slip up; I think I got lazy and copy and pasted.**

 **Lovadren – Well, if you want to be in panic mode. And yeah, I know my trivia/references and where to put them. Oh, and thanks for enjoying my Time Twisted series.**

 **Seta Man (guest)– I'll try. College will shape my update speed.**

 **Guest – Yeah. I meant it to be interesting.**

 **Sulphur99 – Yeah, I wouldn't have put Vincent in unless I had a reason to, and that cameo was good enough for me. And yeah, it seems like I'm leaving more slip-ups in than I usually do; I more often than not find myself writing chapters at night, when I'm sleepier and less attentive, so there's an excuse.**

 **kitanalao – Again, thanks for the reviews!**

 **Monsieur La Critique – Well, I'm sorry my story couldn't appeal to you. Happy reading to you!**

 **And with that, my time is up. See you on the next chapter!**

 **Read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	18. The Night They Trained For

"Greetings, Narukami," a familiar voice called out to Yu. He opened his eyes, only to be greeted by the uncomfortable sight of Izanami, who was sporting a familiar, devilish grin.

"What do you want?" Yu asked coldly.

Izanami chuckled. "Come now. If I can act civil to you, why can't you do the same for me?" Yu said nothing, unsure if he was even capable of conversing with her civilly. "Regardless, I come bearing a warning for you."

Yu then raised his eyebrow. "What is it?"

Izanami's smile warmed up. "Much better." Yu cursed himself for a split second. "My warning is this: You will soon be faced with an enemy far stronger than any you've faced up to this point."

Yu shrugged his shoulders. "So what? My friends and I are more than capable of facing this enemy, whatever it may be."

Izanami nodded. "Such confidence in your abilities is not a bad thing at all. However, I'm more than certain that at least one of your so called 'friends' may not be as well prepared as you may think."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" Izanami paused for a moment before speaking again, her devilish grin plastered back onto her face. "Actually, that's best saved for another time. Why would I want to spoil my fun?"

"Helpful," Yu replied sarcastically.

"I try to be," Izanami replied equally so. "For now, however, things are going as they should be, so I shouldn't meddle around much anyways." Izanami's smile warmed up yet again. "Don't misunderstand. I don't want to see you fail, but at the same time, things in your world must run their natural course."

Just then, a thought popped up in Yu's head. "Can I ask a quick question?" he asked. Izanami only raised her eyebrow. "Why warn me at all if you believe things should run their course without intervention?"

"Do you not trust me?"

"It's surely debatable."

Izanami laughed again. "Well, maybe some other time." Yu's consciousness then began to fade. "We'll talk again soon. Very soon."

* * *

May 9:

The next thing Yu knew, an alarm was blaring in his room. He was confused at first until he realized the green hue synonymous with the Dark Hour was visible at the moment; suddenly, the alarm made more sense going off now rather than at any other time during the night. Once he regained his bearings, Yu jumped out of bed, hurriedly put his school uniform on, and rushed to the door; as soon as he opened it, however, he got a fist to the face, and Yu winced in pain as he rubbed his forehead.

"O-Oops, sorry," Yukari apologized. "Well, you're up, so that's good."

"Ugh," Yu groaned, and looked up at Yukari. "What's going on?"

"We need to hurry to the control room!" Yukari shouted. "Junpei and Arisato are on their way there now, so I decided to come and get you."

Yu was fully awake when she finished her sentence. "What're we waiting for then?" Yu asked. "Let's hurry there!" Yu dashed ahead while Yukari lagged behind. They dashed down the hall, up the spiral-ish staircase, and finally busted through the control room door, where the others were waiting.

"We're all here!" Yu declared. "What's going on?"

Mitsuru turned to face the group. "I've detected a Shadow roaming outside Tartarus."

"What kind are we talking here?" Yu followed. "Is it one of the guardians or something?"

"Worse," Mitsuru replied coldly. "It could be one of the big ones."

"Big…?" Yu stopped asking halfway through his question as his eyes widened with horror. "Y-You don't mean like the one that attacked us before, do you?"

Mitsuru nodded. "Unfortunately, that appears to be the case. But even if it isn't, we must dispose of it at once." Mitsuru's expression darkened. "Even though other people can't experience the Dark Hour, if the Shadow destroys half the city, there'll be a state of panic when they awaken."

Junpei began to rub his hands together. "So what you're saying is we need to kick some ass?" Junpei then gave a thumbs up. "Well then, count me in!"

"It's not like we have much of a choice," Minato remarked.

Mitsuru then faced Akihiko. "As for you, Akihiko, you are to stay here and wait for the Chairman."

Akihiko bolted in shock. "Wha…? You've got to be joking! I'm going, and that's that!"

"You've yet to recover, so you'll only be a hindrance if you go."

"But…!"

Yu looked to Akihiko. "Have faith in us, will you? This is one battle out of many, so there's no use beating yourself up over missing this one."

Mitsuru nodded. "Well said, Narukami-kun." She then looked to Akihiko once more. "You'll get your chance, but just sit this one out and wait for the Chairman. Got it?"Akihiko looked to Yu and the others, then back to Mitsuru, then back to the group again.

Finally, he sighed in agitation. "Dammit," he swore disappointingly.

"Don't worry," Yu added. "We'll be back before you know it."

Akihiko sighed once more. "Well, it's not like I have much choice." He then looked to Minato. "Arisato, you're in charge again."

Junpei snapped in agitation shortly thereafter. "Him AGAIN!?"

Mitsuru walked closer. "We're counting on you, Arisato…" She then looked to Yu. "…and on you as well, Narukami."

Yu nodded. "We'll do our best."

Junpei looked at Yu and Arisato with a piercing frown. "Looks like you two are taking the lead." He then huffed. "Sure sucks to be you right now."

"Your time to shine will come, Junpei," Yu said reassuringly, placing his hand on Junpei's shoulder. "I'm sure of it."

Junpei slapped Yu's hand off, scoffing. "Yeah, right."

"For now," Mitsuru continued, "wait for me in front of the monorail station. I'll be there as fast as I can."

"Got it!" Yukari replied promptly.

"Understood!" Yu replied stoically. "Alright, let's get going!" And with that, the group of Yu, Minato, Junpei, and Yukari dashed out of the control room at breakneck speed, with no time to waste on idle chitchat.

* * *

The four of them sat waiting at the stairs of the station, each with a beverage of their choosing by their side as they waited for Mitsuru. Minato and Junpei were seated away from Yu and Yukari, who were standing at the base of the stairs.

Yukari was the first to break the silence. "Where could she be?"

"She'll be here," Junpei replied as he took a gulp of his soda.

Yukari looked up at the moon. "It's a full moon tonight, but the Dark Hour just makes it even creepier."

"You can say that again," Yu replied before looking to Minato. "What do you think about it?"

Minato looked at the moon, then back to Yu. "Call me crazy, but it's actually very soothing."

Yu arched his eyebrow. "Soothing?" He looked to the moon again, trying to see what Minato was seeing. "I mean, I guess in a way it is, but…" Before he could finish his sentence, the sound of a running motor attracted everyone's attention; in the distance, cutting through the darkness, was a white motorcycle, with the rider's identity concealed behind a helmet.

"What the…?" Junpei asked in surprise as the motorcycle came to a screeching halt; if the outfit of the driver didn't give it away, the removal of the helmet revealed that it was Mitsuru who was driving the motorcycle. In fact, a second look at it revealed that it was the same motorcycle that sat in Tartarus whenever they went to explore the labyrinth.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Mitsuru apologized as the group gazed at her, awe-struck over what they were seeing.

"It's fine," Yu replied. "So what's the plan?"

"Well first things first, I'll be providing support from here for tonight. Other than that, everything is much of the same." She then looked up to the monorail tracks. "The Shadow I detected is currently inside one of the monorail cars stopped not far from the station."

"So we're travelling on foot to get to it?" Yu asked.

She nodded as she faced Yu once more. "Precisely."

"B-But isn't that kinda dangerous?" Junpei interrupted.

"Ordinarily, yes," Mitsuru continued. "But all electronic equipment is inoperable during the Dark Hour, and that includes the monorails."

Yu pointed at the motorcycle. "And your bike?"

Junpei jumped in. "Y-Yeah, I was wondering the same thing."

Mitsuru smiled. "It's special."

"'Course it is," Junpei replied dully.

"Now, should circumstances change," Mitsuru continued, "I'll notify you immediately."

"Got it!" Yu and Minato acknowledged.

"Well then," Mitsuru began as she looked back to the monorail station, "let's get started!"

"Okay," Yukari replied.

"Yeah, let's do this!" Junpei shouted. Yu and Minato simply nodded as they ran into the station in silence, weapons in hand, with the other two following close behind. Other than a few coffins scattered here and there, the station remained relatively the same.

 **"I have a bad feeling about this,"** Izanagi declared as he appeared as an apparition.

"We know," Yukari replied. "But we have to do this so more people don't get hurt."

"Yeah," Yu added. "Besides, we'll be fine. I'm sure of it."

 **"Well, if you say so."** Izanagi quickly disappeared as the group of four hopped onto the monorail tracks and began running the length of the track.

 _"You need to pick up the pace,"_ Mitsuru urged. _"There's a monorail about 200 meters ahead where the Shadow reading may be originating from. Hurry and check it out!"_

"Understood," Yu replied promptly, not bothering to stop running while he talked, because she was right. If something goes wrong, there's no telling what kind of damage could be inflicted. Finally, after an eternity of running, the group slowed to a halt, with the still monorail blocking them from the rest of the track.

"I guess this is it?" Yukari asked.

"It has to be," Yu replied.

 _"Can you all here me?"_ Mitsuru asked.

"Yes, we hear you loud and clear," Yu replied. "We've located the monorail, but there's nothing out of the ordinary besides the fact it's stuck in place."

A minute or so passed before Mitsuru responded. _"The readings are for certain coming from that monorail."_ Her voice relaxed ever so slightly. _"Proceed with caution, and don't split up!"_

"Got it," Yukari replied as Mitsuru went silent.

Suddenly, Junpei chirped in excitement. "Oh boy! My Persona's begging to be used!" Yu then took the lead as the group approached the open door of the monorail, separated by a foot or so ladder attached to the side.

"I'll take the lead," Yu announced as he began to climb the ladder. "There's no telling what might be lurking in there."

Minato nodded. "Good point." Yu then reached the top, climbed inside, and began investigating the cab for anything suspicious; again, aside from a loose coffin or two, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Yu walked back over to the door. "All clear!" he announced as he crouched down and offered his hand to Yukari.

Yukari accepted his hand. "T-Thanks," she stuttered. Halfway up, however, she released Yu's hand in order pull down her skirt.

"Don't. Look. Up." Yukari snapped coldly while both Junpei and Minato wore goofy grins and giggled sheepishly.

Pixie then appeared. **"Ugh, that's so appalling,"** she scoffed.

"Tell me about it," Yukari agreed as she rolled her eyes to the boys.

"Just get up here," Yu suggested. "The quicker, the better." He then looked to Junpei and Minato. "C'mon, you guys! Now's neither the time nor the place!"

Minato shook his head, then nodded in agreement. "R-Right. I apologize."

" **Were you just condoning peeping?"** Pixie asked Yu exclusively.

" _Like I said, neither the time nor the place,"_ Yu replied. _"You can roast me AFTER the threat is neutralized."_

Pixie nodded. **"Fair enough,"** she replied as she vanished.

* * *

"The poor stiff must be a passenger," Junpei remarked about one of the coffins in the cab.

"Well, what else could it be?" Yukari asked.

"A regular old coffin?" Yu deadpanned, to which Yukari scoffed. "Yeah, I'll shut up now."

"So, uh," Junpei continued, "guys like him don't remember a thing, right?"

"It'd be a problem if they did," Minato replied.

"Yeah," Junpei agreed. "It's probably better this way anyways."

"Actually, there is something about all this that worries me," Yu butted in.

Yukari looked to Yu. "What do you mean?"

"Well, isn't it weird how the doors were open when we first found this place?"

"Huh?" Yukari asked in a confused tone before her eyes widened. "Hey, yeah! We're not at a station, so why…?" The door behind them closed shut before she could finish her question, forcing the group of four into a state of panic.

"Ah!?" Yukari gasped as Junpei ran for the door on the other side of the cab, but to no avail; the door slammed shut with his fingers in the crack.

"YEOUCH!" Junpei howled in pain as he pulled out and observed his fingers. "Ah, dammit! The friggin' door jacked up my fingers."

"Let me see," Yu replied worriedly, and Junpei obliged by holding up his left hand; however, all Yu saw that was out of the ordinary was that the side of Junpei's index finger was a bit compressed, but that's about it.

"Yeah, you'll be fine," Yu deadpanned, then loudly called for Mitsuru. "Kirijo-senpai, are you there!?"

" _Yes,"_ Mitsuru replied worriedly. _"What happened!?"_

"The doors to the monorail sealed shut. We can't escape!"

" _That must mean the Shadow knows you're there. Proceed with extreme caution! There's no telling what it may do!"_

"R-Roger!" Yukari replied as the group advanced through the current cab of the monorail without much resistance. In fact, it creeped Yu out even more than the full moon that loomed overhead, and he wasn't the only one.

"Why the hell is it so quiet?" Junpei asked. "If a Shadow is here, shouldn't it be coming for us?"

"Normally, it should," Yu replied, "so there must be something else it's planning."

In the next cab over, their suspicions were proven correct as a Shadow appeared right before them, only to retreat into the next cab.

"There it is," Junpei announced. "After it!"

"Wait!" Yukari shouted.

" _Wait!"_ Mitsuru shouted simultaneously.

Junpei stopped in his tracks, looking to Yukari. "Why!? It's getting away!"

" _There's something not quite right… The enemy is acting unusual."_

"You think so too?" Yu asked.

"But it'll get away if we leave it be!" He then looked to Minato. "Can you just let it go?"

Minato shook his head. "No. While I agree that it needs to be taken care of, I think we should hang back for the time being."

" _I agree. Why would it bother retreating after revealing itself? It makes no sense."_

Now Junpei was fuming. "Are you kiddin' me?" He said in a restrained tone before getting up in Minato's face. "Well you know what? WE DON'T NEED YOUR FUCKIN' OPINION!"

Yu got in between the two. "Hey now! What the hell are you saying!? Is that any way to speak to our leader!?" Yu took a big gulp afterwards, as that was something Yu never expected to say in his lifetime.

"Why are you taking HIS side!?" Junpei shouted to Yu. "We can beat that thing no problem, and yet he says to let it go!? THAT'S BULLSHIT!"

"You need to cool it, you know that!?" Yu shouted. "You're starting to act like an asshole!"

"Y-Yeah, what Narukami said," Yukari agreed.

Finally, Junpei snapped. "Forget you guys! I'm going after that Shadow MYSELF!" And just like that, Junpei took off after the aforementioned Shadow in a blind rage.

"Junpei!" Yukari shouted. Just then, Yu bolted after Junpei in response. "N-Narukami? What are you doing?"

"I'm going after him! Someone has to!" As Yu bolted through the open doorway, he heard the door shut behind him, separating him from the others.

 _Dammit,_ Yu thought as he continued onwards. For at least the next two cars, Junpei was nowhere to be seen.

 _How far could he've gone?_ Yu complained as he opened the door to the next two cars, and what he saw was a sight that relieved, perplexed, and worried him all at the same time. First off, Junpei was dead ahead fighting a trio of Shadows, and he was fighting surprisingly well considering he chose to go solo. But what really concerned him was that there was another person there not in a coffin, and they were hiding under the seats of the monorail in an attempt to stay out of the Shadows' lines of sight.

His first instinct was to check on her first.

"Hamuko!" Yu shouted to his normally bubbly classmate, frightened for her life no doubt.

She responded by turning her head in Yu's direction. "Yu! I'm glad to see you!"

Yu offered her his hand, which she graciously accepted. "I wish I could say the same. What're you doing here?"

"W-Well, um…"

"TAKE THAT!" Junpei shouted as he slashed away randomly at the enemy.

Yu sighed. "Just stay here," he said as he laid his sword to rest and pulled out his Evoker. "I have this guy's mess to clean up." Before Hamuko could ask a single question, Yu had rushed to Junpei's aid, whether he would've asked for it or not.

"IZANAGI!" Yu shouted as he pulled the trigger; once he was summoned, Izanagi brought down a bolt of lightning onto a Heat Balance, which connected successfully and blew the Shadow to bits.

"Y-Yu!" Junpei stuttered, almost relieved.

"Use your Agi move, you idiot! Don't you remember anything!?"

"R-Right!" Junpei, too, pulled out his Evoker. "PERSONA!" In a flash, Hermes appeared and just as quickly set the Spurious Book ablaze.

"IZANAGI! CLEAVE!" Izanagi flashed to life once more, slashing the Dancing Hand into two halves that dissolved away as quickly as they were sliced. Yu gasped for breath, Evoker still at the ready until he was sure the coast was clear.

"Guh," Yu vocalized as he turned to face Junpei. "J-Junpei, are you okay?" Yu walked towards him and put his hand on Junpei's shoulder once more. "You did good, you hear me?"

"Don't touch me," Junpei growled in anger as he shrugged Yu's hand off. "Why'd you have to help me? I was doing fine on my own."

"Really?" Yu asked condescendingly. "'Cause from my perspective, it looked like you were getting your ass handed to you while you swung wildly and randomly."

"Yeah!? And how would you know!? Have you ever had your life on the line with no time to think!?"

"That's not the issue here! You were told to stand down, and you disobeyed. All you really did was prove us right! Do you think we're prepared to send you back to your family in a body bag!?"

"IT'S NOT LIKE I'D BE MISSED ALL THAT MUCH!" Junpei gasped and covered his mouth as he realized what he said, but Yu just as quickly caught onto what he'd said.

"W-What do you mean by that, Junpei?" Yu asked calmly.

Junpei growled. "Dammit… I don't want to talk about it."

Yu frowned. "You expect me to ignore that? What did you mean by that!?"

"Alright, alright!" Junpei took a deep breath, and then began talking again. "See, before I moved in with y'all in the dorm, I had to live with my father. Sounds ideal, right? Well, it isn't. He's an alcoholic, and half the time, I'd be surprised if he remembered to check up on me."

Yu covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh, shit," he swore.

"And, well, when I found out I had the same power you guys did, I saw it as my opportunity to fight the good fight, to protect people, and maybe even get a chance to be the hero. To be somebody." Junpei's expression darkened. "But then we learned about you and Minato's special power, and the fact that HE was assigned leader kinda ate away at me."

"And that's why you snapped at Arisato back there," Yu realized.

Junpei nodded. "Yeah. I… I got angry that you all would let the enemy escape while it had the chance, so I thought 'Hey, this is my time to shine now! I can save everyone!' And then one of them multiplied into three persistent bastards." He then closed his eyes and faced the floor of the monorail. "I understand if you hate me now. I deserve it."

Again, Yu put his hand on Junpei's shoulder. "No, you don't. You were rash, yes. But it's not like I can completely blame you for that." Yu took a breath. "Truth is, I knew someone with your kind of mindset. Not with this kind of issue, mind you, but he beat himself up over something that was out of his control. So much so, in fact, that he tried anything to make himself feel better."

Junpei looked Yu in the face again. "So what happened?"

"I had to talk some sense into him, too. I… I even had to smack some sense into him. But despite how angry he was with me at first, I finally got him to listen… Got him to see the error of his ways." Yu looked straight into Junpei's eyes. "So whaddaya say? Care to let bygones be bygones, at least for now?"

Junpei remained quiet for the longest time, worrying Yu that he wouldn't be able to let it go; but much to his surprise, Junpei let out an extended, and relaxed, fit of laughter. "Y-You really are something, Narukami, you know that?" He chuckled. "You're so good at this it almost scares me." Junpei stood up, followed by Yu. "Yeah, I think I can let it go." He extended his hand to Yu. "Besides, there's still a Shadow that needs its ass handed to it."

Yu accepted Junpei's hand. "Now that's the Junpei I know."

The crashing noise went off in Yu's head, and then he looked to the back of the cab. "What do you guys think?"

"Huh!?" Junpei looked to where Yu was looking, only to realize that Yukari and Minato finally caught up with them, and it didn't look like they were all that angry with him.

"W-What the…!? W-When did you get here!?"

"Around the time you started your story," Minato replied bluntly.

"You can be a real softy, huh Stupei?" Yukari mocked playfully.

"Come on, not this again!" Everyone but Junpei erupted into laughter.

" _As much as I'd like for you to go on,"_ Mitsuru started calmly before shifting to a concerned tone, _"you still have the big Shadow to take care of before something bad…"_ Suddenly, the monorail bolted to life, making everyone tumble to the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Hamuko shouted.

"It seems that the monorail is moving now," Yu suggested.

" _This is bad,"_ Mitsuru blurted out. _"The enemy must've taken control of the monorail."_

"Dammit," Junpei swore. "That can't be good for us, can it?"

" _No, it isn't. If you don't stop it, you_ _ **will**_ _crash into another monorail!"_

Hamuko gasped. "Are you serious?"

"Oh, God!" Yukari gasped. "What are we gonna do!?"

"Well, sitting around on our butts isn't gonna help things." Yu then posed a question to Mitsuru. "Do you know where the strong presence is, Kirijo-senpai?"

" _The presence is in the front car, so that must be where our target is!"_

"Then that's where we're headed!" Yu was the first to stand, offering his hand to Hamuko once more, which she yet again accepted graciously.

"Umm, who's that?" Yukari asked.

"I'm Hamuko Yuki," she replied. "I'm one of your classmates at Gekkoukan, but that's not important right now!"

Yu nodded. "She's right. We've got to stop this thing. Fast!" In record time, everyone was back on their feet and making a mad dash for the front of the monorail.

* * *

At last, the group made it to the front of the monorail, but what they saw waiting for them was not what they expected: it was a giant humanoid lady half black and half white with hair stretching to both the walls and the ceiling, wearing nothing but a long skirt-like garment and, perched on its face, a Priestess mask.

"What the hell is this thing!?" Junpei exclaimed.

"Is that the creature making the monorail move?" Hamuko asked.

"It's gotta be," Yu exclaimed. "We're in the front car, so it's the only explanation!"

" _Take it out quickly, or things will get much worse for you and for the city!"_ Mitsuru reiterated.

"Right!" Yu exclaimed before looking to Minato. "What's your plan?"

"You, me, and Junpei will attack on the front lines, while Yukari stays by Hamuko to serve as backup."

Yu nodded. "Sounds good." He then looked to the Shadow. "Let's give it everything we got!" He finally put his Evoker to his head. "PERSONA!" As Izanagi shimmered to life, Yu shouted his command: "ZIO!" Like clockwork, a bolt of lightning struck the enemy, but it wasn't enough to bring it down, as he expected. "Your go, Arisato!"

Minato nodded, and readied his Evoker. "ORPHEUS! AGI!" Orpheus similarly appeared in a shimmer of light, and after a strum on his harp, a small fireball hit the Shadow, also to no avail.

"I got this!" Junpei shouted as he readied his sword for a mighty swing; but somehow, the Shadow dodged his attack, leaving Junpei to spin around uncontrollably until he fell flat on his butt.

"Dammit," he swore. "I'm too dizzy to stand." As he said this, the Shadow let out a melodious chant, and in a flash, two Muttering Tiaras appeared.

"Are you serious?" Yukari groaned as she readied her bow and, momentarily, released an arrow that hit one of the Tiaras head on, dissolving it instantly on impact.

Yu looked back to Yukari, giving her a thumbs up. "Way to go, Yukari!" he congratulated.

Yukari gasped. "Look out!" Yu turned back around, but it was too late, as the Priestess Shadow launched an attack against him; but before he knew it, Minato jumped in to protect him by taking the full force of spear-like hair, resulting in a few bleeding cuts for the group's fearless leader.

"Minato-kun!" Yukari shrieked as she rushed to Minato's side; once there, she pulled him out of the battle for healing while Yu considered his next move. He started by precisely, and effectively, slashing the Priestess' remaining ally in half, destroying it near instantly. At that point, Junpei was finally back on his feet and sent out a Cleave attack the Shadow's way; that attack did some damage, but it also redirected the Shadow's attention to him, so as to allow Yu to initiate a sneak attack.

It could've worked too, had it not been for the stray hair cluster that the Priestess used to trip up Yu and Junpei, and as both Persona users hit the ground, Yu's Evoker scuttled out of his hand as Yukari fruitlessly sent Garu attacks out while the Priestess showered the area with ice and snow. While none of them were notably harmed, it didn't really matter, as the Shadow summoned more Muttering Tiaras to do its bidding, with one of them knocking Yukari down, leaving Hamuko without any form of protection.

As he regained his strength, Yu struggled to face Hamuko. "H-Hamuko, get outta here! There's nothing you can do!" Once Yu caught a glimpse of her, the blood drained from his face; he saw Hamuko pick up his own Evoker, glancing between the Evoker and the Shadow for several moments, and just before the Tiaras began to launch another attack on the group, she made the choice to place the Evoker to her head.

"W-Wait! You can't!" Yu was now struggling to drag himself to Hamuko's position. "You have no idea what you're doing!"

Hamuko shook her head with a gentle smile on her face. "No. I do know." Yu closed his eyes, not wanting this to be the last thing he sees before he's killed.

 _I failed,_ Yu thought. _Why does it have to end this way? How did we let this Shadow be our undoing!?_

"I-I'm doing this… to protect my friend," Hamuko finished as the sound of an Evoker going off began to ring in Yu's ear, and when he opened his eyes, what he saw would've been enough to make him pass out from shock. It suddenly made sense why she was able to function during the Dark Hour, even though it was the only explanation. Out the other side of her head shot a stream of blue energy, and from that came a humanoid creature with horns on its head, no arms, and wearing a white and purple robe.

"Am I seeing this right?" Junpei, who just recovered from his fall, asked.

"You have to be," Yu replied. "Otherwise, we're both crazy."

Hamuko reopened her then closed eyes, and only said, "Take-Minakata."

"She's a Persona user," Yu and Junpei said in unison.

Hamuko giggled. "Let me give you guys a hand, okay?" She then took in a deep breath. "MAZIO!" Much like with Izanagi, Take-Minakata charged up a lightning attack, only this time, lightning hit all three enemies, incapacitating one Tiara and destroying another.

Yu finally got to his feet and whistled. "Not bad!" He then looked to Junpei. "Take the other Tiara out, alright?"

Junpei nodded. "You got it!"

Yu then looked to Hamuko. "Hamuko, can you check up on the other two?"

Hamuko nodded as she tossed Yu his Evoker back. "Don't worry! I've got 'em. Just take that bitch down!"

Yu nodded. "With pleasure." He then faced the Priestess, who now has no allies to call its own.

"Junpei?" Yu called.

"Yeah man?" Junpei replied.

"When I say go, throw your strongest attack at it, okay?"

"You got it!" As he said that, it appeared that the Priestess was preparing to summon more Shadows to its side.

"NOW! IZANAGI!"

"HERMES!" Both Personae sent out their Cleave attacks with ease, and in an instant of sparks and light flashes, their Personas, and the Priestess Shadow itself, disappeared without a trace. The threat eliminated, Yu and Junpei collapsed to their knees while Yukari, recently recovered from the attack made on her, healed Minato up completely; Hamuko, at that point, also collapsed to her knees, which was comparatively normal considering that she'd just awakened her Persona mere moments ago.

Yu was the first to respond. "I don't know how, but we did it."

"Yeah, what a relief," Junpei agreed.

"But if we beat it," Yukari began as she got to her feet, "then why are we still moving?" Everyone on board gasped, and no one was more surprised than Yu, who looked outside only to find that the monorail was, indeed, still moving.

"Dammit!" Yu swore "But why?"

 _"Don't just stand there!"_ Mitsuru was now more angry than she was concerned. _"You're gonna crash into the monorail!"_

Yu bolted to his feet as fast as he could. "DAMMIT!" he shouted as he ran straight for the train controls and pulled the first lever he could find; the lever appeared to be working since the cabin filled with the sound of screeching metal, but before he knew it, his vision started to fade to white as he was collapsing from the stress.

 _Did I… do it?_ He asked himself as he lost consciousness.

* * *

 **Well, this one was a long time coming. Yeah, remember when I said that college was going to divert my attention away from my writing? That apparently meant I wouldn't have ANY time to write, and while I'm off for the semester now, I recently took on a job so I can have a little more spending money. That being said, I fully intend to write and post a new chapter by the end of the month; hell, maybe I'll write two or three new chapters, but no promises, as usual.**

 **Anyways, contrary to before, there actually was a social link rank up for a chapter filled with action:**

 **Junpei (Magician) – Rank 5**

 **And finally, my responses to the reviews:**

 **PersonaQeminod1 – I plan on it!**

 **SeventhAssassin – Hope this was worth the wait!**

 **Sulphur99 – Yeah, writing at night is obviously not a good thing. I think those two mistakes might've been me not proofreading my work in an exhausted state, and I had more than my fair share of typos from my late night writing session for this chapter. Hopefully, the edits I made to last chapter helped it make more sense.**

 **Phearo – Fixed! Although, I apparently had the weapon right, thinking it was one-handed. I need to stop writing at night. :P**

 **Haruto Arima – Thanks! I'll try getting more out soon, and hopefully it's not five months from now!**

 **kitanalao – Yeah, it has been awhile. Glad you keep enjoying it!**

 **Chase Persona Fantasy – Umm, what? Glad you like my story, but I'm not sure what you're suggesting.**

 **Royal Blue Phoenix – Thanks!**

 **Oh, and if this chapter seemed a little, I dunno, not like the story you all signed up for, let me know! I want to entertain you, but I'm also welcome to any and all suggestions if it means improving or maintaining the quality of the story.**

 **Well, that's all I've got. Read on!**

 **-rjm324**


	19. A Sense of Security

_..._

 _What happened? Am I dead?_

…

 _Oh, right. The train._

 _I pulled the lever, but I don't remember what happened._

…

 _Izanami, are you there waiting for me?_

…

...

 _..._

"-kami!"

...

 _Huh? Who's that?_

 _..._

"Na...kami!"

...

 _Is that for me?_

 _..._

"Narukami!"

…

* * *

"Ugh," Yu groaned as he regained consciousness; he was thrown off slightly by the fact that the first face he saw was Hamuko's, her eyes streaming like a river with tears. He looked to the left, then to the right, then back to Hamuko. The others had gathered around him, and they were all still on the train.

"W-What's going on?" Yu asked. "Are we dead?"

Minato shook his head, sighing in relief. "Far from it."

"In fact," Yukari added, "you saved all our lives when you pulled on the brake."

Hamuko sniffed. "A-And then you p-passed out!"

Yu chuckled. "I did?" he laid his head to rest and closed his eyes for a moment before looking to Minato. "I guess we're on the same page now?"

Minato chuckled. "I guess so." He then offered his hand to the downed Yu. "Need a hand?"

Yu accepted Minato's hand. "Yeah. Thanks." Minato then pulled Yu up off his back. Once back to a sitting position, Yu was almost immediately forced into Hamuko's grasp as she went in for a hug, rapidly squeezing the life out of him.

Yu gasped for air. "H-Hamuko! P-Please let m-me g-go!"

"Y-You had me so w-worried that you wouldn't w-wake up!"

Junpei scoffed. "You know he would've eventually, but if you don't let him go, you might just kill him."

Hamuko gasped, releasing Yu in an instant; free from her grasp, he started wheezing and gasping for breath. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!"

"Y-You're too kind," Yu rasped, "but also kind of terrifying."

Mitsuru sighed. _"I'm just glad that all of you are alright,"_ she replied, relieved.

Once Yu returned to a standing, yet shaky, position, he rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry I spooked you all," he apologized, still with a slight rasp. "How are the rest of you holding up?"

"Well, my knees stopped shaking, so I'm good," Yukari replied.

"I'm good too," Junpei replied before his face darkened with a hint of shame. "Except that I'm drenched in sweat."

"Ewwww! TMI!" Hamuko reeled in disgust, which was immediately followed by a hearty round of laughter. For once, the atmosphere they exhumed felt friendly and relaxed, a perfect change of pace from the intense, stressful atmosphere from moments ago.

Mitsuru spoke up again. _"I'm so sorry I couldn't do much on my end."_

"It's not your fault," Yu reassured. "There's no way we could've predicted all of this."

Mitsuru sighed. _"You're right."_ She relaxed her tone. _"Anyways, I don't detect any other Shadows. Go ahead and head back."_

"Got it," Yu replied before turning his attention back to Hamuko. "But what do we do about her?"

" _You don't have to worry. I'll take care of her later."_

Yu nodded. "Alright."

The crashing noise went off in Yu's head.

Minato then spoke up. "By the way, how did you figure out which lever was the brake?"

Yu shrugged his shoulders. "A spur of the moment?"

Yukari sighed in agitation. "You're unbelievable!"

Yu laughed. "We're alive though, aren't we?"

Junpei spoke up, a bright smile on his face. "You better believe it! Say, how about we blow this place and get something to eat?"

The others nodded in agreement.

"Well then, let's get going!" With that, Junpei led the charge as he bolted back through the train at record speed, followed by Yukari pacing far behind him, leaving Yu, Minato, and Hamuko in the control car.

Hamuko was next to move, before turning back to the boys in confusion. "Umm, aren't you guys coming?" she questioned.

Yu nodded while walking towards her. "I was about to ask Minato the same thing." Minato didn't appear to take offense to that comment, but he did pass up the two of them without saying a word, much to Yu's chagrin.

"He's probably fine," Hamuko reassured Yu as the two of them began walking. "He… he might have a lot on his mind."

Yu nodded in begrudging approval. "Yeah. Yeah he might."

Hamuko playfully punched Yu on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it!"

Yu smiled wryly. "You're bursting with energy, you know that?" His smile melted away as his eyes grew heavy. "After all we've been through, and you're still able to put a positive spin on things, while I'm struggling to keep my eyes open."

Hamuko frowned. "So what? Is it wrong to try and keep things happy?

Yu shook his head. "No, not at all." He then sighs. "I… Never mind."

Hamuko's expression then darkened, but she nodded afterwards. The two of them then approached the ladder, climbed down, and walked down the tracks in the direction they came from. This gave Yu time to think, not that he had the mental capacity to think given the circumstances.

As he and Hamuko approached the station, Yu noticed a figure in the distance, darkened by shadows but still visible enough to faintly see; he couldn't make out any of its physical properties, but he had a feeling that this man or woman standing there had been watching them. Maybe even following them. This worried Yu, and his mind quickly brought to mind the people that ambushed he and Hamuko nights before; he just as quickly dismissed the idea, but when he tried to get a better look, the figure vanished, almost as if it melted back into the shadows from whence it came.

"You okay?" Hamuko asked Yu.

Yu looked back at Hamuko, hesitating for a moment, and nodded. "Yeah." He couldn't wait to get back to bed.

* * *

 _Somewhere in the distance, unbeknownst to Yu, another figure was spying on the group. Despite the distance, it could pick out each member one by one, not that it was possible to confuse them with the residents couped up in coffins._

 _It then began counting how many strong were in their group. "One, two, three, four, five..." It paused. "...six. Six targets in total." The figure went silent again. There were six people in the group, but only one of it; it didn't matter how one cut it, this presented a challenge that, frankly, it could go without, but that couldn't really be helped._

 _The figure went on the move regardless, jumping from rooftop to rooftop in an attempt to keep up with the ever advancing group. It was determined to catch the group by surprise, and hopefully…_

" _No, the time will come," it reassured itself. That time would surely come soon enough. However, a problem cropped up when, suddenly, it stopped dead in its tracks right near the Moonlight Bridge. Was it… scared to approach the group? The bridge was only a small drop away from the building it stood on, but even if it decided to jump down then and there, it was too late anyways; right as it prepared to make a move, the Dark Hour ended, so the general public, and likely the cops, were out and about, which the figure decided wasn't worth dealing with now. Dejected, the figure turned around and made a quick retreat._

* * *

"Hello again, Narukami," Izanami greeted Yu, who begrudgingly opened his eyes to the goddess.

"What do you need now?" Yu demanded. "I was trying to sleep, you know."

She nodded. "I see that. You did, in fact, best your first true enemy in this adventure."

Yu nodded. "And it wasn't that easy to beat, either."

"And for that," Izanami continued, "I congratulate you. I expected much less from you, given the circumstances."

Yu arched his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Remember when I told you one of your teammates might not have been as prepared?" Izanami reminded.

Yu nodded, then came to a sudden realization. "So wait, what you mentioned before was Junpei's jealousy?"

Izanami nodded. "And yet, it turned out to be no problem for you and your Iwatodai comrades. May your future operations prove to be just as successful."

Yu grimaced. "T-Thanks. But, you're being way to kind to me right now."

Izanami shook her head. "Nonsense." Izanami then frowned sadly, which was an expression Yu wouldn't soon forget. "Although, it seems as though your path may soon be obstructed by some unsavory… individuals."

Yu nodded. "I know. Those three I met in town the other day certainly seem the type."

Izanami shook her head. "Indeed they are, but they aren't who I'm referring to."

Yu's eyes widened in interest. "Wait, what do you mean?"

Izanami shook her head. "Unfortunately, I have no idea as to this new group's identity; all I do know is that somehow, they have made their way to the past alongside you."

Yu shuddered. "No way." He paused. "Could it be Adachi and Ameno-Sagiri?"

Izanami shook her head. "No. Ameno-Sagiri was, in fact, an avatar of myself, and after his defeat, he returned to me." She paused. "In short, there is no way he and Adachi are the ones you seek."

Yu nodded, relieved. "That's good, but still not great either."

Izanami began smiling again. "Always positive, but never oblivious." She chuckled. "You continue to show me why I selected you at the very beginning." Yu knew he shouldn't feel as honored as he does now, but at that moment, Izanami's intentions feel almost… pure. Even then, Yu had no idea that sort of response was possible with her.

The crashing noise went off in Yu's head.

"Is that all?" Yu asked. "I'd like to get a little more rest now."

Izanami nodded. "Of course." As Yu's vision began to fade, Izanami piped back in. "Oh, and keep on your toes. You never know when this new group may appear." Yu nodded in approval.

* * *

May 11:

"That's strange," Bunkichi remarked as Yu and Minato walked into Bookworms that afternoon. "I swear I left it around here somewhere..." It seemed as though Mitsuko was also looking for whatever Bunkichi had lost, even if neither Fool knew what that was.

Yu cleared his throat. "I guess you're looking for something?" he asked.

Both elders turned around promptly to face the two. "Yu-chan?" Bunkichi asked. "And Minato-chan?" His face immediately brightened, then nodded. "How'd you know I was looking for something? Are you two psychics?"

Minato shook his head. "No, we can just tell," he replied.

Bunkichi nodded. "I see… Still, it's nice to know you care." He then scratched his head. "I'm looking for my glasses!" Minato was about to speak up, but Bunkichi corrected himself. "No, not my glasses, it's my wallet." He grimaced. "I can't seem to find it anywhere."

Minato smiled. "How about we help you find it?"

Bunkichi also smiled. "Wow! Minato-chan, I think you really CAN read minds!" He nodded in agreement. "I was just thinking how nice it would be if someone lent us a hand."

Yu turned around. "I'll check outside."

Minato nodded. "Good idea."

Bunkichi nodded. "It couldn't have gone far." Yu then walked out the front door, on the search for the missing wallet. However, it didn't matter where he looked, the wallet was nowhere to be found. None of the shops had reported a missing wallet. It wasn't near any trashcans. It was just… nowhere to be found.

" **Maybe they found it in the shop by now?"** Izanagi suggested.

Yu nodded. _"Maybe they did."_ Yu made the decision to return to Bookworms, hoping the others had found the wallet by now. When he did eventually open the front door to the store, he was surprised by what he saw; the wallet was found, but not in the way he expected.

A new face turned to face Yu. "'Ello. Who eez this?" he replied. Based on his appearance and how he spoke, the boy didn't appear to be Japanese in origin.

Yu held out his hand. "My name's Yu Narukami," he replied. "I was out helping look for a wallet, but it looks like it found its way home after all."

The boy nodded, accepting Yu's hand. "Yez! I found it on ze ground, so I was asking around to find ze owner." The boy, who sported straight, blond hair and a dark colored outfit, then released his grip and fanned himself with his handheld fan. He stopped to look at Minato, then to Yu, then continued speaking. "Sumimasen, excuse me."

Yu looked him in the eyes curiously. "What is it?"

"Aren't you ze transfer students everyone eez talking about?"

"Yeah," Yu and Minato replied monotonously.

The boy nodded brightly. "Well, I go to ze school – Gekkoukan!"

Minato nodded. "Is that so?"

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Yu replied. "Although, you don't sound like you're Japanese."

Again, the boy nodded. "I came 'ere from France to study abroad. My name ezz Andre Laurent Jean Geraux."

Yu whistled. "That's quite the name."

"You can call me 'Bebe' if zat makes it easier," he suggested.

Minato nodded. "It does." He then offered his own hand. "It's nice for me to meet you too."

"Bebe" shook Minato's hand graciously. "Hajime mashite! It ezz nice to meet you too!" he replied happily before retreating. "I work in ze Home Economics Room every day. If you two get bored, come say 'ello!"

Yu nodded. "We'll keep that in mind."

Bebe nodded, fanning his face dramatically. "I 'ope to see you zere." He turned to face the exit, waving his hand goodbye. "Sayonara, goodbye!" He then walked out the door, leaving the store silent. Yu looked to Minato, a confused, but amused look, plastered on his face.

"Well, he sure was something else," Yu said.

Minato nodded in agreement. "He is." Mitsuko also nodded in silent agreement.

Bunkichi, instead, looked into his wallet. "Hmm," he vocalized. "I thought I put it in my wallet so I wouldn't lose it."

"Lose what?" Yu asked.

Bunkichi pulled out an old key, ignoring Yu's question. "Ah, here it is!" he proclaimed. "I knew it was in here!"

Yu was curious. "What's that a key for?" he asked.

Mitsuko spoke up worriedly. "I-Is that the key for..."

Again, Bunkichi ignored Yu, instead addressing Mitsuko. "Come on, dear, you know what it is. It's the key for our son's car." He paused, as if catching his breath. "Seeing Minato-chan and Yu-chan reminded me of how things used to be."

"'How things used to be?'" Minato asked monotonously.

As usual, Bunkichi ignored everyone but Mitsuko. "I haven't heard the roar of the engine in a long time. How do I look, dear?" Yu looked to her, but all he saw was extreme sadness in Mitsuko's eyes; something was seriously wrong with what Bunkichi said, and Yu knew it very well.

Mitsuko spoke up. "Why must you get into a car?!" she shouted harshly, her face contorted with sadness and, now, anger. "Do you want me to end up all alone?!"

Minato, surprisingly, was the first to speak up in concern. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Did something happen before?"

"Um, Minato-chan..." Mitsuko began shakily.

Bunkichi's face looked sad, as if old wounds had been reopened. "Our son… Do you two remember what I told you? How he passed away?" Yu nodded silently, which only dampened Bunkichi's already dreary mood. "On his way home from work, he got into an accident. He was hit by a dump truck driver who was drunk on the job..." He got choked up while recalling this tragic event; it was clear to both Yu and Minato how deep this must've cut the old couple.

Yu nodded sadly. "I-I'm sorry to hear that..." he replied with just as much sadness.

Bunkichi shook his head. "Yu-chan, please punch me," he replied bluntly. "Punch me for being so insensitive." He then looked to Mitsuko. "With all my excitement, I forgot to consider how my wife might feel..."

Yu shook his head with confidence. "I can't do that, Bunkichi-san," he replied sternly. "At least you held back from doing it."

Bunkichi looked at Yu hopefully. "Yu-chan..." he replied sincerely.

The crashing noise went off in Yu's head. This was a depressing sight to behold for Yu and Minato both. Not that they couldn't handle it, but it didn't change how they felt.

Bunkichi's expression brightened up. "Hm? Hey, why should we let this get us down?" He then looked to Mitsuko again. "Since I found my wallet, why don't we eat out, dear?" Mitsuko nodded, then Bunkichi looked back to Yu and Minato with hope in his eyes. "Thanks for searching with us. Consider this your allowance." Before either of them could object, Bunkichi stuffed a bottle of medicine in each of their pockets before sending them on their way.

* * *

"That was heavy," Yu spoke up as he and Minato walked back to the dorm. "Don't you think so?"

Minato nodded solemnly. "Yeah." He paused, but only for a minute before responding. "And then there's that foreign exchange kid..."

Yu nodded. "He just seems like a Social Link waiting to happen, doesn't he?"

Minato looked at Yu curiously. "Does it seem that obvious to you?"

Yu nodded in response. "I've engaged with enough people in my past to catch onto it, even before it happens."

Minato nodded. "Oh, right. That makes sense." The two of them continued on in relative silence while the sun set on a comparatively slow day. In fact, aside from their visit with the old couple, the past few days following the operation on the monorail were rather monotonous. And, as much as Yu didn't want to jinx things, he secretly wished something might happen that would shake things up a little.

At that moment, possibly out of paranoia, Yu stopped dead in his tracks, as he felt that someone had been following he and Minato for a good while. He turned his head around, and found nothing behind him but the familiar sight of pedestrians walking back and forth; he knew when something felt wrong, it would go wrong, but was he really just paranoid this time?

"What's wrong?" Minato asked. Yu snapped out of his trance, then turned to see Minato had stopped as well to check up on his teammate. "Did you see something?"

Yu turned around, looking for that uncomfortable something one more time, then turned back around, only to shake his head. "No," he replied uncertainly. "But… I can't shake this feeling that we're being tailed."

Minato shrugged. "I don't blame you, all things considered." He then turned back around. "We should get going, though. If someone is there, there's not much they can do in broad daylight."

Yu nodded as the two continued their trek back. "You're right," he replied. "I dunno why I worried so much about it."

While they walked, a thought occurred to Minato. "Let me guess: the last time you let your guard down, something terrible happened."

Yu nodded, frowning and gulping at the many thoughts that rushed through his head. "Yeah. And it's not just one time, either." He went silent, unwilling to list off the many ways things went wrong back in Inaba.

Minato nodded. "I see. Forget about it, then." Finally, they made it back to the dorm without any hiccups, and without any chance encounters. Nevertheless, Yu took one last glance around the dorm's entrance, only to find no suspicious individuals, much to Yu's relief.

Minato chuckled. "You need to relax a little," he suggested.

Yu nodded. "I know," he replied. "But I told you, I can't help it. Who knows what might happen if we let our guard down?"

Minato nodded. "Not a bad quality to have. Maybe you should try being leader the next time we go to Tartarus."

Again, Yu nodded. "I'll think about it. Are you sure your ego can take it?"

Minato chuckled once again. "I think I'll be fine," he retorted, "but thank you."

The crashing noise went off in Yu's head. At least something good came out of his paranoia. Well, sorta.

"Anyways," Yu continued, "let's just head inside for the night. There's not really a whole lot we can do in Tartarus right now anyways." Minato just nodded as the two of them walked through the front door of the dorm.

* * *

" _So," a voice muttered to itself, "this is where their base of operations is." Unlike the night before, it was able to act more discretely under the light of day successfully; it accomplished this by finding the perfect disguise: some civilian clothes that would easily allow them to follow any of its targets from the bridge without arising suspicion._

" _But still," it thought, "the gray-haired one is much more attentive than I thought..." It sighed as it began retreating more calmly from the giant dormitory. "I would've been caught had it not been for the other one… just how much does he know?" The answer didn't matter, of course, since it didn't change the plan at all. It just needed to get close enough to find the answers it needed._

" _But why am I pursuing him so badly?" it asked._

* * *

"Welcome back," Mitsuru greeted, the same as she did most other nights. However, she wasn't done just yet. "You came at a good time, actually. I need to ask a favor."

Yu and Minato nodded. "What is it?" Yu asked.

"It seems some of the equipment in the command room is malfunctioning," she explained. "Could you look into it? It shouldn't take long."

"Is there no one else who can do it?" Yu asked.

Mitsuru shook her head. "I asked Akihiko and Iori, but judging by their responses, I doubt they were taking me seriously."

Yu nodded. "Alright, we'll do it." He then looked to Minato. "Are you up for it?"

Minato nodded. "Sure, why not?"

Mitsuru continued. "Don't misunderstand. This isn't an order, just a favor. If you have nothing else to do, I'd appreciate it."

Yu shook his head. "It's no trouble at all."

Mitsuru nodded, "Thanks." Yu started making for the stairs, with Minato trailing not far behind. Neither of them really knew how they would fix computers that complicated, but hey, maybe they'd fix them in a flash of blind luck. As they climbed, neither the second nor third floors showed any signs of life, so it seemed like everyone had retreated back to their rooms for the night.

At last, they reached the fourth floor, and went straight for the command room's door. As they walked in, Yu marched straight for the bank of consoles, expecting that one of them was the malfunctioning equipment Mitsuru was talking about; while inspecting them, he accidentally powered on the surveillance camera, where he discovered there was a recording queued up to play.

Yu looked to Minato. "That's odd," he said.

Minato nodded. "Did she mean to show us something on the cameras?"

Yu shook his head. "I'm pretty sure she would like to keep the footage private." He looked back on the screen. "Although, you can't say you're not curious about what's on it."

Minato shrugged. "Turn it on if you want," he replied. With the push of a button, the monitor displayed the following message:

 _05/10/2009 01:23:02_

 _Beginning playback_

The screen then filled up with the image of the command room, with Chairman Ikutsuki sitting at one of the chairs. He was writing something in a notebook, but neither of them bothered to try figuring out what it was.

" _Hmm, a Shadow in the middle of town,"_ Ikutsuki spoke seriously. _"It managed to take over public transportation..."_ He paused, and began writing down, seemingly, the exact words he just spoke. _"I should investigate whether this means it's finally begun."_

"'It's?'" Yu asked curiously. "Is there something he doesn't want us to know about?"

"Seems that way, doesn't it?" Minato replied.

Ikutsuki continued. " _Monorail..."_ Yu arched his eyebrow. Was this really something Mitsuru wanted them to know? What about the monorail?!

" _Listen to the monorail in monaural,"_ Ikutsuki finished.

Yu cringed. _Is that what he was building up to?_

Ikutsuki chuckled, confirming Yu's fears. " _Oooh, I must make a note of that one!"_ Surprisingly, Ikutsuki did write that joke down. He was gonna try using that on them later, wouldn't he?

Ikutsuki continued. _"Luck played an uncomfortably large part in the victory, especially towards the end. If he hadn't guessed at the right controls, things could've been very bad."_ He paused. _"For Shadows to work in a group to overrun large machines is unprecedented..."_

Yu nodded. "That is a good observation. That's kinda weird the Shadows haven't done something like this before."

Minato shrugged. "Maybe it's because they feel threatened now?"

" _The engine..."_ Ikutsuki continued.

"Shit," Yu swore. "Did I miss something about the..."

" _That was an engine-ous move!"_ Ikutsuki joked.

Minato shook his head. "Nope, just another crappy pun."

Ikutsuki laughed heartier. _"What's with me today?! I'm on a roll!"_ His eyes gleamed with childlike joy. _"Oh, yeah. Better write that one down too!"_

Yu sighed. "Does he take anything seriously?" he asked as the Ikutsuki on screen wrote down his "engine-ous" pun. However, considering the bright smile reflected off the screen in the recording, Ikutsuki seemed far from done.

" _One should always wear bright clothing at night,"_ Ikutsuki continued again. _"Otherwise, the Shadows could make it dangerous to walk near traffic!"_

Yu, and now Minato, groaned as if they were in pain. "I didn't know we were watching Ikutsuki-san's stand-up routine," Minato complained.

"Yeah, this stuff is so bad," Yu agreed.

" _Hey, I should write all these down and show them off the next time everyone gets together!"_ Ikutsuki was really having fun, and didn't seem to care he was getting off topic from whatever he was supposed to be doing.

Yu looked to Minato. "You think we should warn the others before he has a chance to pop in?"

Minato shook his head. "He'll share them, regardless if we delay a meeting with him or not."

Yu nodded, dejected. "Damn, I didn't think about that."

Ikutsuki's rapid fire jokes soldiered on. _"Don't care for seafood? They also serve GROUND beef!"_ Ikutsuki howled in laughter. _"This has nothing to do with the status report anymore, but I'm having a blast!"_

"He's supposed to be writing a status report on the mission?!" Yu fumed slightly. "I know he's a bit of a jokester, but this is too much." The recording cut off quickly after this complaint.

Minato sighed. "It's finally over," he replied, relieved.

Yu nodded, getting up from the chair. "I'm headed to bed," he declared. "I feel drained after that experience."

Minato nodded. "Have a good night," he replied. Neither of them went to bed peaceful at mind that night.

* * *

May 12:

" **Good morning, Yu,"** Izanagi greeted Yu as he stretched his limbs.

"Morning, Izzy," Yu replied. When he sat up in his bed, he saw Izanagi peering out the room's sole window. "Hey, are you alright?"

Izanagi nodded. **"Yeah."** He then faced Yu. **"You know, I think your paranoia might just be rubbing off on me."**

"Sorry," Yu apologized as he got dressed for school for the day. "But like I told Minato, I can't help it. You never know if we might be found out." He sighed. "And right now, I really don't want to know what may happen if that comes to pass."

Izanagi nodded solemnly. **"I know. Izanami really set up a treacherous game for us."**

Yu nodded. "I'll say." After slinging on his backpack, Yu left his room and, inevitably, walked out the front door by himself for the day. Unusually, Izanagi remained silent for most of the walk there, which, considering his Persona's usual demeanor in the morning, was a little unnerving to Yu. Even when they approached the station, Izanagi remained silent.

Finally, Yu stopped to speak to him. _"Hey, Izanagi,"_ he began, _"has something gotten into you?"_

Izanagi remained silent for a minute longer. **"Hey Yu, do you know this girl that's been following us the whole way here?"**

Yu began turning around. _"It's probably just Fuuka. I know she's been..."_ When he came to a stop, Yu's heart skipped a few beats. No, Fuuka wasn't trying to catch up to him, but what he saw seemed to confirm another fear of Yu's; standing at a distance, there was a blue-haired girl, clearly staring right at Yu, wearing simple clothes that could easily help her fit in amongst a crowd. However, something about her made Yu panic even more than his encounter with the group from before; at least then, he could tell they were evil, but this girl… this girl was much more ambiguous in behavior, especially since she was keeping her distance rather than catching up to him. Why would she do that, especially if she was following him this whole time?

Yu turned back around. _"I'm going to walk slowly,"_ he began. _"You just tell me if she follows us."_ Yu walked up the stairs to the platform, just as the next monorail train pulled into the station.

" **She's not following,"** Izanagi reassured as Yu walked into the car.

Yu nodded. _"Good,"_ he replied, relieved. _"Seriously, though. What's up with that girl?"_ Yu would never receive a reply as he was sped down to Port Island's station.

* * *

" _He stared at me," the girl noted as Yu disappeared from view. She wasn't surprised that he had seen her, since it was bound to happen given how much she was tailing him; however, this was the first time he got a good look at her, and the thought still frightened her at times. Again, though, she was unwilling to approach him face-to-face despite her desire for answers._

 _She shook her head. "Dammit, I need to stop hesitating," she swore. "It doesn't matter how I do it, I need to do it now… or not at all." Her fist shaking, she began walking towards the station, hoping she wouldn't attract too much unwanted attention._

 _Today just had to be the… to be her day._

* * *

 **I'm back! I know, right? Where the hell was I for the past year? Well, like I said in my previous updates, it was the combination of a part-time job and a stressful college school year taking all my time away. However, after my two playthroughs of Persona 5 (FWI, it was an AWESOME game to play through!), I finally got the spark to return to the story again. Yay! So what does this mean for the story now? Well, I'm going to make a concerted effort to write at least 1 chapter a week, though I hope to up that to 2 or 3 per week, though that really depends on my free time.**

 **Anywho, let me actually recap ALL the Social Links, in case you need a refresher:**

 **SEES (Fool) - Rank 3**

 **Junpei (Magician) - Rank 5**

 **Fuuka (Priestess) - Rank 2**

 **Mitsuru (Empress) - Rank 2**

 **Akihiko (Emperor) - Rank 3**

 **Bunkichi and Mitsuko (Hierophant) - Rank 3**

 **Yukari (Lovers) - Rank 2**

 **Jin (Hermit) - Rank 2**

 **Hamuko (Hanged Man) - Rank 3**

 **Izanami (Devil) - Rank 2**

 **Mysterious Man (Tower) - Rank 1**

 **Minato (Aeon) - Rank 4**

 **And now, the reviews:**

 **SeventhAssassin - I think Hamuko is a fine addition. Also... well, Izanami is being a little vague about it, so who knows what she's up to. (I kinda do, but I'm also kinda making it up as we go along.) Lastly, I will keep true romance down to a minimum, I swear! Thanks for the review!**

 **Sulphur99 - I don't even know if you still read this anymore, but... yeah, she totally saw Personas before. It's just another typo that I call a plot detail never mentioned before. (Wait, that's a plot hole, isn't it? Dammit! Well, I'll fix it. Probably.)**

 **PersonaQeminod1 - Actually it was April 4th, but I KNEW! And the game we got was great too!**

 **Guest (Guest #1) - No offense taken! I totally get what you mean, and I hope that moving forward, things are a little more interesting, and better developed, story wise. You could say these first 18 chapters were a warm up of sorts, kinda to show how things wouldn't be so different with Yu there before I start pulling the rug out. Hope you stick around!**

 **BlazingFireAngelXXX - Well, it is fanfiction, but you're right. Yu stuttered way more than I intended. As of a round of rewrites, he now stutters much less, save for some choice scenes.**

 **kitanalao - Aww, thanks!**

 **Guest (Guest #2) - Now!**

 **Guest (Guest #3) - About three times now, thanks for asking!**

 **And that's about all the time I have right now. Hopefully, I'll be seeing you guys back next week!**

 **Read on!**

 **-rjm324**


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